Law Restoring Voting Rights to Some People with Felonies Takes Effect in Missouri
by Michael Dean Thompson
Missouri Gov. Mike Kehoe (R) recently signed into law HB 1871, which allows people convicted of certain nonviolent crimes to be eligible to vote while on parole. The new law took effect on August 28, 2026. According to estimates provided by The Sentencing Project, 41,100 formerly incarcerated people found their voting rights restored on that day.
Missouri is among the 25 states that do not immediately return voting rights when a person is released from prison on parole. Most of those 25 states are in the southeast part of the country. Of the remaining 25, only Maine and Vermont, along with Washington D.C., allow people who are currently incarcerated to vote. Nine states—Alabama, Arizona, Delaware, Florida, Iowa, Kentucky, Mississippi, Tennessee and Wyoming—permanently bar some convicts from voting without a pardon from the governor. In Virginia, all convictions without a pardon are permanently disenfranchised. According to Christopher Uggen, professor of law and sociology at the University of Minnesota, disenfranchisement is a reality for approximately 4 million people.
Sophie Sceats in the Oregon Law Review article “Felon-in-Chief: Rethinking Candidate Disqualification and Voter Disenfranchisement”, wrote that the number of disenfranchisement laws increased dramatically during Reconstruction with the increase in incarceration of Black Americans as a quiet way to “rescind the equal rights the 15th Amendment granted.” Had President Donald Trump (R) been convicted in one of the states where all felons are disenfranchised, pending a pardon, he would not have been allowed to vote even as he took office.
Missouri’s new law helps to at least partially reverse that trend. “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,” M. L. Smith, the Executive Director of the Missouri Justice Coalition, told The Sentencing Project.
Smith continued, “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 our voices.”
Nevertheless, massive gaps remain. In many cases, disenfranchised voters—especially those who are incarcerated—just have the power of their vote reapportioned to others who may not share their views. Smith and other advocates had wanted to see even more people have their rights restored.
Bob Libel of The Sentencing Project said in a press release, “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.” Libal added, “While today’s progress is important, a truly inclusive democracy requires eliminating these barriers altogether.”
Sources: The Sentencing Project, News Tribune, Oregon Law Review
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