Get Involved Advocacy Tell Congress to Restore Federal Voting Rights States across the country are taking action to expand voting rights to people with felony convictions. Still over 5 million people are disenfranchised and federal voting rules remain inconsistent. Ask your congressperson to support federal voting rights for people with convictions and establish uniformity in federal elections. Issue Area(s): Felony Disenfranchisement, Collateral Consequences For more information, see fact sheet on Federal Voting Rights for People with Convictions. Call the Capitol Switchboard at (202) 224-3121 or use this sample letter to write your representative: Dear Representative:   I am writing to express my support for the restoration of federal voting rights to men and women once they leave prison and re-enter the community.   Voting policies vary widely across the country. For example, in West Virginia a person who has completed his or her sentence for a felony conviction can vote for President, but next door in Virginia someone convicted of the same offense is barred for life from voting. State laws range between never disenfranchising people because of a conviction and permanently ending voting rights upon conviction. These disenfranchisement laws have resulted in an estimated 5.3 million Americans currently or permanently losing their voting rights. It is crucial that Congress make federal voting standards uniform and restore fairness to our electoral system. Full voter participation in elections strengthens communities. People who vote are more likely to feel connected to their communities and therefore to avoid falling back into crime. Research shows that, among persons who have been arrested, voters are less than half as likely to be re-arrested as non-voters. Since 1997, 16 states have passed laws to expand voting rights to people with convictions, and Governors of both political parties ultimately supported these state initiatives. In addition, the national organization of prison professionals, the American Correctional Association, endorses voting rights for former felons. When people leave prison and return home, they deserve a second chance to work, raise families, participate in community life, and vote. The current patchwork of voting laws across the country means that a person's right to vote in federal elections is determined simply by where he or she chooses to call home. Congress must take action to fix this problem. Please support Federal voting rights for people with felony convictions. Sincerely, [YOUR NAME]