In 2026, voting rights took a massive step forward when the Delaware John Lewis Voting Rights Act was passed and signed into law. The law prohibits racial discrimination in elections. While this was a momentous step, felony disenfranchisement, a relic of Jim Crow era restrictions on voting, remains in our state constitution. This election season, you have the power to vote your values and tell the General Assembly to ensure every vote counts.
“Delaware is one of the few states outside of the Deep South that disenfranchises certain people for life”
In Delaware, felony disenfranchisement laws keep people from exercising their right to vote after their imprisonment. People are unable to vote while on probation or parole, even though they are living in communities where they and their families are impacted by the decisions made by those who represent them. And Delaware is one of the few states outside of the Deep South that disenfranchises certain people for life following their felony convictions. Together, these restrictions resulted in the disenfranchisement of approximately 3,600 Delawareans who were not incarcerated in 2024 (Uggen, 2025).
These restrictions impact everyone, but they also have a racially discriminatory history and impact. For example, another state with permanent disenfranchisement, Alabama, introduced felony disenfranchisement laws into their constitution following an announcement from the president of their constitutional convention to “establish white supremacy in [Alabama]” (Taylor, 2018). Due to racial bias in the criminal legal system that persists to this day, nearly half of Delawareans impacted by felony disenfranchisement following their release from incarceration are Black in a state where they only make up about a fifth of the population (Uggen, 2025).
I know how it feels to live in a society so shaped and impacted by the decisions of policy makers I can’t vote for or against. This missing right is a secret I carry, one I often have to educate even the canvassing candidates about as they go door to door asking for a vote I cannot cast. It all serves to make me feel like I am still on the fringes, still caged by a past I have long since grown out of. I have come to learn that this inability to have my rights restored is the definition of disenfranchisement.
“I lost my right to vote before it was ever mine to lose, when I was incarcerated at the age of 17.”
Thankfully, our country has started to recognize its missteps and that people change over time. Pennsylvania and New Jersey do not have permanent felony disenfranchisement, and Maryland only permanently disenfranchises people convicted of buying or selling votes. (Brennan Center for Justice, 2024). Even states with a greater history of voter suppression have recently taken steps beyond those Delaware has taken to address felony disenfranchisement, as Missouri passed a law to restore voting rights to Missourians on probation or parole, re-enfranchising approximately 40,000 people. (Burness, 2026). We shouldn’t always be defined by a poor choice in our past but instead recognized for the people we are today. The ability of people to grow and change is especially pronounced for people like me who were convicted as minors before we ever gained the right to vote in the first place. I lost my right to vote before it was ever mine to lose, when I was incarcerated at the age of 17.
Thankfully, Delaware lawmakers are working on a solution. Just this past session, HB 180, the first leg of a constitutional amendment to restore voting rights to all upon release from incarceration, passed the General Assembly (Delaware General Assembly, 2025). To become law, it must pass again by a supermajority in the next General Assembly. To vote your values at the polls and to stand up for voting rights, go to VoteDelaware.org and see where your candidates stand on this crucial issue.
Let’s vote this year to make sure that next time we go to the polls, everyone who lives and works alongside us has a voice.
Sources
ACLU of Delaware. (2026, October 16). 2026 Midterm Election Candidates. Vote Delaware. https://votedelaware.org/2026-midterm-election-candidates/
Brennan Center for Justice. (2024, October 16). Criminal disenfranchisement laws across the United States [Map]. https://www.brennancenter.org/sites/default/files/2024-10/2024.10.16-bc-criminal-disenfranchisement-laws-map.pdf
Burness, A. (2026, July 21). GOP-run Missouri becomes latest state to roll back felony disenfranchisement. Bolts. https://boltsmag.org/gop-run-missouri-becomes-latest-state-to-roll-back-felony-disenfranchisement/
Delaware General Assembly. (2025). House Bill 180: An act proposing an amendment to Article V of the Delaware Constitution relating to voting. https://legis.delaware.gov/BillDetail?LegislationId=142224
Taylor, J. R. (2018, August 20). Jim Crow’s lasting legacy at the ballot box. The Marshall Project. https://www.themarshallproject.org/2018/08/20/jim-crow-s-lasting-legacy-at-the-ballot-box
Uggen, C. (2025). Locked out 2024: Four million denied voting rights due to a felony conviction. The Sentencing Project. https://www.sentencingproject.org/reports/locked-out-2024-four-million-denied-voting-rights-due-to-a-felony-conviction
