The US is “out of step” with the rest of the world with its disenfranchisement of large numbers of citizens based on criminal convictions, the Sentencing Project, Human Rights Watch, and the American Civil Liberties Union said in a joint report published on Thursday.

As of 2022, 4.4 million United States’ citizens were disenfranchised from voting due to felony convictions. Of the 136 countries with populations greater than 1.5 million people, 73 of them never or rarely deny a person’s right to vote based on felony convictions. The remaining 63 have less restrictive laws than the US, making the US largely an outlier.

There are a number of obstacles to reducing voter disenfranchisement, according to the groups issuing the report, including  voter confusion, paperwork and documentation requirements. Additionally, registration systems that require a citizen pay all of their outstanding fines before being allowed to vote, continue in many states. There are obstacles to voting in jails where many are held without being convicted of a crime. Another large obstacle is the fear of voting due to threat of criminal prosecution. In many states and federally, unauthorized voting is a felony offense. These factors all contribute to the voter disenfranchisement in the United States.

Jennifer Schroeder, who was convicted in Minnesota, described her experience with disenfranchisement and why it is important for people convicted of a crime to be included in the political process, saying “Voting makes us feel like we belong, like we can actually reintegrate into society and have the power to shape our futures.”

There has been a recent trend of some states expanding their voting rights protections. Florida passed Amendment 4 in 2018, which restored voting rights to Floridians with felony convictions, except for murder and sex crimes, after they complete all terms of their sentences. Kentucky Governor Beshear signed an executive order in 2019 which restored the right to vote for those who had completed their sentence for non-violent felonies. This restored voting rights for five percent of the adult population. Eight states have moved restoration of voting rights to the point of release from incarceration, while eleven states still have permanent disenfranchisement for all or some people with felony convictions. Two states and the District of Columbia have voting rights for all, including incarcerated people. Recently, the North Carolina Supreme Court found a felony disenfranchisement law unconstitutional.