State Voting Rights Campaigns
The Sentencing Project collaborates with state and local advocacy organizations, directly impacted organizers, and coalitions around the country.
Learn more about our state voting rights campaigns below.
The Sentencing Project partners with state advocates and justice-impacted activists to provide communications and advocacy support to advance state reforms to expand the franchise for people with felony convictions, uplift prison and jail-based voting best practices, and produce state-specific research briefs. Some of the states where we have worked in recent years include:
California
The Sentencing Project participates in the Free The Vote coalition and has supported efforts to restore voting to incarcerated Californians and expand jail-based voting.
Illinois
The Sentencing Project participates in the Unlock Civics Coalition to restore voting rights to persons completing their felony sentence in prison.
Nebraska
We worked with Nebraska’s Voting Rights Restoration Coalition to eliminate the two-year waiting period for persons who completed the felony sentences. We continue to work with advocates to expand voting rights to all Nebraskans impacted by the criminal legal system.
New Mexico
In 2023, The Sentencing Project worked with directly impacted New Mexicans to support passage of landmark legislation to restore voting rights to 11,000 New Mexicans on felony parole or probation. We continue to work with advocates to restore voting rights to currently incarcerated New Mexicans.
Texas
The Sentencing Project works with a statewide coalition to advance rights restoration legislation and expand voting for eligible voters in county jails.
Maryland
We worked with advocates in 2016 to restore voting rights after incarceration. During 2025, we testified to expand voting rights to all Marylanders regardless of criminal legal status and collaborate in coalition with the state.
Massachusetts
Collaborating with the Democracy Behind Bars Coalition, we are working to expand voting rights to persons completing their felony sentence in state prisons and jails. We testified and supported strategic communications to amplify the need for change.
Oregon
The Sentencing Project participates in the Guaranteeing the Right to Vote Coalition to change the law so that all Oregonians can vote, including persons completing their felony sentence inside prisons and jails.
Washington DC
The Sentencing Project supports a coalition of local and national organizations monitoring the implementation of the DC Restore the Vote Act Amendment, which restored voting rights to residents completing their felony sentence in prison or jail.
The Sentencing Project has been an invaluable partner and resource for our local coalition. Through the power of this partnership, we are building a movement to educate Oregonians about how our state disenfranchises incarcerated people and to change that so all eligible Oregonians can participate fully in our democracy.
Join the movement
Interested in helping to expand voting rights to all justice-impacted individuals in your state? Email staff@sentencingproject.org to connect with our voting rights team and stay up to date on the latest voting rights news.
