This article is part of TPM Cafe, TPM’s home for opinion and news analysis.
On Sunday, in commemoration of the anniversary of Bloody Sunday, the Biden administration took its first major executive action on voting rights. And it was an important one, leveraging the power of federal agencies to lower the barriers to voting, particularly the barriers to voter registration. While this action was significant for many voters who have been historically left behind by our democracy, it was truly historic for one often overlooked constituency: those affected by the criminal justice system.
Voting is and has long been incredibly difficult for justice-involved voters. Because of complicated and arcane criminal disenfranchisement laws that vary state-to-state, justice-involved voters often do not know when contact with the criminal justice system impacts their eligibility to vote and, if they have been disenfranchised, what steps they need to take in order to have their rights restored. Th