Stephen J. Farnsworth, a political analyst at the University of Mary Washington in Fredericksburg, said a majority of the convicted felons who regained their voting rights were likely members of minority groups.
Of the 5.8 million Americans banned from voting, 2.2 million are African-American, according to the Sentencing Project, a prison reform advocacy group.
In three states – Virginia, Florida and Kentucky – more than a fifth of black residents outside of prison are barred from voting. About 13 percent of the U.S. population is African-American.
