65% Think Felons Should be Able to Vote After Completing Jail Time
Friday, February 14, 2014
Voters in 11 states can permanently lose their right to vote if convicted of a felony. Among most other states, that right can be restored only after serving some combination of their jail time, parole and probation.But most voters believe someone convicted of a felony should regain the right to vote after serving their sentence problem-free.
A new Rasmussen Reports national telephone survey finds that 65% of Likely U.S. Voters think that if someone is convicted of a felony and serves their sentence without problem, their right to vote should be restored. Twenty-three percent (23%) disagree, but 11% are not sure. (To see survey question wording, click here.)
The national survey of 1,000 Likely Voters was conducted on February 12-13, 2014 by Rasmussen Reports. The margin of sampling error is +/- 3 percentage points with a 95% level of confidence. Field work for all Rasmussen Reports surveys is conducted by Pulse Opinion Research, LLC. See methodology.