Missouri Restores Voting Rights to Thousands, but Gaps Remain
Legislation expands ballot access to over 41,000 Missourians on felony probation and parole, restoring a voice in democracy.
Related to: Voting Rights, State Advocacy
[Washington, D.C.] – Yesterday, Governor Mike Kehoe signed HB 1871, a comprehensive elections bill that includes provisions to restore voting rights to certain individuals completing felony probation and parole. Although an important step forward, the legislation still bars people with convictions for certain crimes from voting while on parole or felony probation, and people currently incarcerated due to a felony conviction.
“Today is a great day for democracy: an estimated 41,100 Missourians will have their rights restored through this critical framework,” reported Christopher Uggen, Ph.D, professor of law and sociology at the University of Minnesota, and one of the co-authors of Locked Out 2024: Four Million Denied Voting Rights Due to a Felony Conviction. “Understanding how voting reforms impact justice-involved citizens is essential to tackling the collateral consequences of felony convictions and ensuring a fairer system.”
“It is profoundly important that members of marginalized communities vote, particularly those disproportionately impacted by the criminal legal system. Voting is a communal act that empowers communities to secure the resources and representation they need for their neighborhoods, schools and children,” said ML Smith, Executive Director of the Missouri Justice Coalition. “Voting is not just an individual act; it is a collective expression of power that allows communities to advocate for safer neighborhoods, better schools, and opportunities for future generations. As someone directly impacted, I’m glad to see Missouri take this meaningful step toward a more inclusive democracy—one that begins to reflect all of our voices.”
“Missouri’s adoption of this important legislation is an overdue step toward ensuring that many people impacted by the criminal legal system are no longer excluded from our democracy,” said Bob Libal, Senior Campaign Strategist at The Sentencing Project. “These voting bans reflect a legacy designed to exclude Black residents and all marginalized communities from the democratic process. In Missouri, as across the country, felony disenfranchisement continues to dilute the political power of communities already overrepresented in the criminal legal system. Yet more than 10,000 Missourians on probation or parole—already living in their communities, working, raising families, and paying taxes—will still be denied a voice in the laws that govern them. While today’s progress is important, a truly inclusive democracy requires eliminating these barriers altogether.”
“Missouri has taken a major step towards a more inclusive democracy by ensuring voting rights for returning citizens; more than 40,000 Missourians on probation and parole will be able to cast a ballot in Missouri for the very first time in 2026,” said Denise Lieberman, Director and General Counsel of the Missouri Voter Protection Coalition. “Yet, this law stops short of guaranteeing voting rights to all returning citizens, and even with this significant legislative victory, thousands of Missourians will continue to be excluded from the democratic process because they are on supervision for sentences excluded from this year’s rights restoration reform. So we still have work to do, and Missouri Voter Protection Coalition will continue to lobby lawmakers to ensure every eligible Missourian, regardless of conviction status, has an equal opportunity to vote in our state.”
About the Missouri Justice Coalition
The Missouri Justice Coalition (MoJustice) was founded and led by a carceral systems impacted advocate to unify, amplify and uplift the voices, lived experiences and solutions of system-impacted persons.
About Missouri Voter Protection Coalition
The Missouri Voter Protection Coalition (MOVPC) is Missouri’s non-partisan state voting rights organization that anchors legal, legislative, policy and Election Protection efforts in the state to identify and dismantle discriminatory voting systems and expand ballot access. MOVPC leads advocacy on voting rights legislation in the Missouri legislature.
About The Sentencing Project
The Sentencing Project advocates for effective and humane responses to crime that minimize imprisonment and criminalization of youth and adults by promoting racial, ethnic, economic, and gender justice.
