As a part of the organization’s advocacy efforts, Return My Vote uses data from state public records requests to better understand the status of felony disenfranchisement in Alabama.
Research is headed by Dr. Richard Fording of The University of Alabama, with the help of graduate-level research assistants. If you have any questions about felony disenfranchisement laws or RMV’s research projects, contact Richard Fording at rcfording@returnmyvote.org.
Hattie Vyhlidal
September, 2025
Legal Financial Obligations (LFOs), including court-imposed fines, fees, and restitution, pose a significant barrier to voting rights restoration for individuals with felony convictions. Although the right to vote is a cornerstone of American democracy, its restoration for returning citizens often hinges on financial capacity. In states like Alabama, where the payment of all LFOs is required before re-enfranchisement, this practice effectively creates a pay-to-vote structure. As a result, individuals who have completed their criminal sentence may still be denied the vote due to outstanding debts. This policy brief provides a national overview of felony disenfranchisement law, the growing evidence on the role of LFOs as modern barriers to civic reintegration, and a set of guiding principles for reform.
This report is forthcoming.
Dr. Richard Fording, Dori Miles, and Maddie Minkoff
July, 2025
Researchers at Return My Vote found that Alabama Blacks with felony convictions are both more likely to have their right to vote stripped from them than Whites, and 50 percent less likely to have their right to vote restored following disenfranchisement. The analysis showed that the overrepresentation of Black citizens in the criminal justice system, as measured by arrest data and prison entry data, did not completely explain the disparities in disenfranchisement and voting rights restoration.
Read the full report here.
Richard C. Fording is the co-director of Return My Vote and a Professor of Political Science at the University of Alabama. He earned his B.A. at the University of Florida (1986), and his Ph.D. from Florida State University (1998). His primary teaching and research interests include public policy, race and politics, state politics, social movements, and quantitative methodology. He is the author or coauthor of articles appearing in a variety of journals, including American Political Science Review, American Sociological Review, American Journal of Political Science, American Journal of Sociology and The Journal of Politics. He is the coauthor of Disciplining the Poor: Neoliberal Paternalism and the Persistent Power of Race (University of Chicago Press, 2011) and Hard White: The Mainstreaming of Racism in American Politics (Oxford University Press, 2020).
