Raymond Powell, a Gary native now living in Indianapolis, wasn’t sure of his voting status after his release from prison. So when he visited the Bureau of Motor Vehicles to update his address, he was taken aback by a simple question from the clerk: “Are you a registered voter?”
“They asked if I was a registered voter and I told them no,” Powell recalled. “Then they asked if I wanted to register? I told them yes, and they asked me a few questions, they gave me a voter registration card, and I was registered to vote.”
Powell is one of millions of Americans to have been imprisoned and left uncertain about their voting rights. Fortunately for Powell and other Hoosiers, Indiana allows residents to register to vote as soon as they are released from prison. But in many states, former prisoners, individuals on parole, and even those with felony records from years past remain barred from voting. The impact of these restrictions is disproportionately felt in Black and Latino communities, adding another layer to racial inequities in the justice system.
In a high-stakes election year, advocates are rallying around federal voting protections that could restore rights to millions of disenfranchised Americans, a move they say is critical to addressing persistent disparities in political participation. These restrictions disproportionately affect minority groups, with advocate groups warning the stakes couldn’t be higher to pass federal protections.
Powell, now the pre-release manager at Public Advocates in Community Re-Entry (P.A.C.E.) in Indianapolis, helps recently released citizens navigate their return to society. This election cycle, he joined forces with the American Civil Liberties Union in its “Yes, You Can Vote” campaign, to inform formerly incarcerated Hoosiers of their restored voting rights.
“As long as you are not currently in prison for a conviction, you are able to vote,” said Laura Forbes of the American Civil Liberties Union of Indiana.
“I know a lot of people are really surprised when they hear that, which makes sense, because there are so many states that disenfranchise people even after they leave prison.”
There are 25 to be exact.
Currently, 10 states bar citizens with felony convictions from voting, even after they have completed their sentences. An additional 15 states restrict voting rights for individuals on parole or probation.
The Freedom to Vote Act, introduced in 2021, would ensure every citizen has the right to vote by restoring the right to vote in federal elections for people who have served their time for felony convictions and are no longer incarcerated. The bill also makes provisions for automatic voter registration and making Election Day a public holiday. But it has not passed yet.
Greta Bedekovics, associate director of democracy policy at the Center for American Progress and author of last month’s report, “Pass the Freedom to Vote Act: How Elections Would Look Different This Year and in the Future,” described the Freedom to Vote act as “monumental legislation.”
“There are 3.3 million Americans who would be affected by a Freedom to Vote Act who currently are not able to vote. That would include people on parole, probation, and people who completed their sentence,” she said. “That’s a huge part of the American electorate, especially states with heavy disenfranchisement laws like Alabama.”
In Alabama, for instance, a Center for American Progress report found that approximately 292,000 Alabamians could have regained their right to vote and become eligible to cast a ballot for the 2024 general election, including 129,000 Black Alabamians and 3,000 Hispanic/Latino Alabamians. According to the NAACP’s criminal justice fact sheet, Black Americans are jailed at five times the rate of their white counterparts.
According to Bedekovics, a Freedom to Vote Act could lead to 8 million more registered voters nationwide, with 3.8 million expected to cast ballots. The measure would register an additional 1.2 million Black voters alone, resulting in an estimated 600,000 more Black Americans at the polls. In Indiana specifically, Bedekovics found that 50,000 more Black voters would be registered if automatic voter registration was enacted.
“That’s 10% of the state’s Black population (per 2022 census data), which is very significant. And we think 24,000 would likely cast a ballot,” she said.
For his part, Powell plans to continue his work spreading voting awareness and helping formerly incarcerated individuals in Indianapolis and Gary. He co-founded the nonprofit Community Change Center, which has two re-entry homes in Gary’s Glen Park neighborhood.
Through fundraising and a match from NIPSCO, Powell says they have started a food truck that will allow them to hire individuals who are just returning home.
“Ultimately, our goal is to turn it into a restaurant where it will be run by individuals that are coming home from incarceration,” Powell said.
“They’ll receive some employment, and we can also tie housing people into it. We really need Mayor Eddie [Melton] to get more involved with it. I would love to sit down with him and have a conversation.”
Capital B is a Black-led, nonprofit local and national news organization reporting for Black communities across the country.