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Our only agenda is to publish the truth so you can be an informed participant in democracy. We need your help. More Info ### I would like to contribute One Time Monthly Yearly Join Now ![](\\" ![](\\" Gary Chambers Jr. stated on February 9, 2022 in a campaign video: \"One in 13 Black Americans are deprived of the right to vote.\" ![\\"true\\"](\\" half-true/6479cbc723379f0ee49c269b0b9790b7.jpg.\\") ![\\"half- true\\"](\\" true.jpg\\") * National * Elections * Race and Ethnicity * Gary Chambers Jr. ![\\'People](\\" People hold up signs reading \"Freedom to vote,\" during a rally in support of voting rights at Black Lives Matter Plaza in Washington, Saturday, July 17, 2021. (AP) ![\\"Amy](\\" By Amy Sherman February 15, 2022 # Fact-checking Louisiana Democrat’s claim about Black Americans and the right to vote #### If Your Time is short * Chambers’ video omits that his statistic refers to the number of people who have lost voting rights due to felony convictions. * Each state sets its own laws as to whether felons lose the right to vote and how they can regain that right. * The Sentencing Project, a group that supports expanding voting rights, found in 2016 that 1 in 13 African Americans had lost the right to vote due to a felony conviction. By 2020, the number dropped to 1 in 16, as more states changed their laws. See the sources for this fact-check Gary Chambers, a Louisiana Democrat running for the U.S. Senate, sets fire to a Confederate flag in a campaign video as he cites statistics about racial injustice and says \"it’s time to burn what remains of the Confederacy down.\" \"Here in Louisiana and all over the South, Jim Crow never really left, and the remnants of the Confederacy remain,\" Chambers says. \"The attacks against Black people, our right to vote and participate in this democracy are methodological.\" Chambers reels off a few statistics including this one: \"1 in 13 Black Americans are deprived of the right to vote.\" Chambers didn’t cite evidence in his video or explain what he meant, but his other campaign materials made it clear he was referring to the number of Black Americans who have lost that right due to a felony conviction. A Chambers press release cited a statistic from 2016, but as of 2020 slightly fewer Black Americans were blocked from voting. The majority of those who can’t vote due to a felony conviction are no longer in prison. Chambers, a social justice advocate from Baton Rouge, is running in a Democratic primary with hopes of ousting U.S. Sen. John Kennedy, a Republican. Banning felons from voting is a relic of racial segregation laws Before the passage of the 15th Amendment, which guaranteed men the right to vote regardless of race, very few states barred prisoners from voting, a lawyer at the Brennan Center for Justice at New York University previously told PolitiFact. But after the post-Civil War amendment passed, a wave of states enacted laws or amendments to take away prisoners’ right to vote. President Joe Biden campaigned on a promise to incentivize states to restore felon voting rights. His efforts so far have stalled amid Republican opposition in the Senate to set uniform voting rights laws, including for felons once they leave prison. That means states have the power to set their own voting laws. During the past decade, the trend has turned toward making it easier for felons to regain their right to vote after leaving prison. Proponents argue that after felons pay their debt to society, they should be allowed to positively contribute to society by voting. Opponents say that those who break the law should not easily earn back the right to vote. Each state sets its own rules on whether and when felons regain the right to vote A press release from the Chambers campaign showed that he pulled the statistic from a 2020 Brookings Institution report. That document linked to a 2016 report by the Sentencing Project, a group that supports expanding voting rights. It was based on data collected by sociologists with the University of Minnesota and the University of Georgia. In 2016, the Sentencing Project found that one in 13 African Americans of voting age was disenfranchised, a rate more than four times greater than that of non-African Americans. In 2020, the figure fell to 1 in 16 Black Americans. It includes people who have served their sentence, are on probation or parole, or remain in prison. #### Featured Fact-check ![](\\" ![](\\" Donald Trump stated on August 23, 2024 in a speech in Las Vegas “Kamala cast the tiebreaking vote to hire 87,000 new IRS agents to go after your tip income.” ![\\"true\\"](\\" false/33efdb6633e5e2fdc2d4e2f63383a1e0.jpg.\\") ![\\"false\\"](\\" false.jpg\\") By Amy Sherman • August 28, 2024 The numbers of disenfranchised felons fell between 2016 and 2020 as more states made it easier for some felons to regain the right to vote including California, Iowa, New York, New Jersey, Nevada, Colorado, Wyoming and Washington, D.C. There is variation among states on how many felons — of all races and ethnicities — are disenfranchised, because each Legislature or governor sets its own rules. In sheer numbers, Florida has the highest number of disenfranchised felons. In 2018, Florida voters approved a constitutional amendment that restored voting rights to people with past felony convictions, but subsequent legislation required that they fulfill other conditions of their sentence first, such as paying restitution and court costs. In Maine, Vermont and now Washington, D.C., felons don’t lose their right to vote, according to a 2021 analysis by the National Conference of State Legislatures. In 21 states, felons lose their voting rights only while incarcerated, and regain their right to vote upon release. In the remainder of the states, felons also lose their voting rights while on parole and/or probation or have to meet other conditions to regain their right to vote. Our ruling Chambers said in a campaign video \"one in 13 Black Americans are deprived of the right to vote.\" Chambers’ video didn’t explain why they are deprived of the right to vote. But he was referring to the number of African Americans who lost the right to vote due to a felony conviction, based on a 2016 analysis from the Sentencing Project. A 2020 report by the same group found that number dropped slightly to 1 in 16 African Americans. It includes people who have served their sentence, are on probation or parole, or remain in prison. Chambers’ overall point that a significant number of Black people are disenfranchised due to a felony conviction is correct, but in an environment where issues of voter suppression are widely discussed and debated, the figure benefits from more explanation. We rate this statement Half True. **RELATED** : Biden’s promise related to restoring felons’ voting rights stalls **RELATED** : ​​Fact-checking Louisiana Senate candidate Gary Chambers’ claims about marijuana arrests #### Read About Our Process The Principles of the Truth-O-Meter ### Our Sources Gary Chambers, U.S. Senate candidate, Campaign video, Feb. 9, 2022 Brookings Institution, The demographics of racial inequality in the United States, July 27, 2020 The Sentencing Project, 6 Million Lost Voters: State-Level Estimates of Felony Disenfranchisement, 2016 The Sentencing Project, Locked out: Estimates of people denied voting rights due to a felony conviction, 2020 National Conference of State Legislatures, Felon voting rights, June 2021 Tampa Bay Times, Florida ruled felons must pay to vote. Now, it doesn’t know how many can. Oct. 7, 2020 Brennan Center for Justice, Voting Rights Restoration Efforts in Florida, Sept. 11, 2020 PolitiFact, Bernie Sanders set off a firestorm over prisoners voting, but his facts are straight, April 24, 2019 Email interview, Christopher Uggen, professor of sociology and law at the University of Minnesota, Feb. 11, 2022 Email interview, Sarah Shannon, associate professor of sociology University of Georgia, Feb. 11, 2022 ## Browse the Truth-O-Meter ### More by Amy Sherman slide 4 to 6 of 15 ![](\\" Instagram_logo_2016.svg/322c808c00e73c217d17772ddd5a0eb5.jpg\\") ![](\\" Instagram_logo_2016.svg/8b142c91ebe468a84a192e6df2b7b994.jpg\\") Instagram posts stated on July 22, 2024 in an Instagram post: There are nine states “where Biden’s name can’t be removed and no one can be added. That’s over 130 electoral votes in the toilet.” ![\\"false\\"](\\" ![\\"false\\"](\\" By Ranjan Jindal • July 23, 2024 ![](\\" ![](\\" Kamala Harris stated on July 17, 2024 in a campaign video: \"Unlike Mike Pence, (JD) Vance said he would have carried out Trump\'s plan to overturn the 2020 election.\" ![\\"mostly-true\\"](\\" th.jpg\\") ![\\"mostly-true\\"](\\" mostly-true.jpg\\") By Amy Sherman • July 18, 2024 ![](\\" ![](\\" Kari Lake stated on July 16, 2024 in in a speech at RNC in Milwaukee: “Just last week, Ruben Gallego voted to let the millions of people who poured into our country illegally cast a ballot in this upcoming election.” ![\\"false\\"](\\" ![\\"false\\"](\\" By Amy Sherman • July 17, 2024 ![](\\" ![](\\" JD Vance stated on August 25, 2024 in an interview on NBC\'s \"Meet the Press\": A zero-tolerance policy during the Trump administration \"led to less family separation than under Kamala Harris\' border policies.” ![\\"false\\"](\\" ![\\"false\\"](\\" By Amy Sherman • September 4, 2024 ![](\\" ![](\\" Donald Trump stated on August 26, 2024 in an interview with a podcaster: Vice President Kamala Harris “is a communist. … She is really a Marxist.” ![\\"pants-fire\\"](\\" th.jpg\\") ![\\"pants-fire\\"](\\" pants-fire.jpg\\") By Amy Sherman • September 4, 2024 ![](\\" ![](\\" Rick Scott stated on August 28, 2024 in a post on X: “This month alone, more than 16,000 non-citizens have been removed from the voter rolls in 3 states.” ![\\"half-true\\"](\\" th.jpg\\") ![\\"half-true\\"](\\" true.jpg\\") By Samantha Putterman • August 29, 2024 ![](\\" ![](\\" Donald Trump stated on August 23, 2024 in a speech in Las Vegas: “Kamala cast the tiebreaking vote to hire 87,000 new IRS agents to go after your tip income.” ![\\"false\\"](\\" ![\\"false\\"](\\" By Amy Sherman • August 28, 2024 ![](\\" ![](\\" Tim Walz stated on August 14, 2024 in a speech in California: Former President Donald Trump “cut overtime benefits for millions of workers.” ![\\"barely-true\\"](\\" th.jpg\\") ![\\"barely-true\\"](\\" barely-true.jpg\\") By Amy Sherman • August 20, 2024 ![](\\" ![](\\" Pete Buttigieg stated on August 11, 2024 in an interview on CNN State of the Union: Gov. Tim Walz delivered paid family leave in Minnesota but “Republicans are blocking” a Biden-Harris proposal. ![\\"mostly-true\\"](\\" th.jpg\\") ![\\"mostly-true\\"](\\" mostly-true.jpg\\") By Amy Sherman • August 16, 2024 ![](\\" ![](\\" Donald Trump stated on August 8, 2024 in a press conference: Says his Jan. 6, 2021, speech on the White House Ellipse drew the “same number of people,” as the 1963 March on Washington where Martin Luther King Jr. gave his “I Have a Dream” speech. ![\\"false\\"](\\" ![\\"false\\"](\\" By Louis Jacobson • August 9, 2024 ![](\\" Instagram_logo_2016.svg/322c808c00e73c217d17772ddd5a0eb5.jpg\\") ![](\\" Instagram_logo_2016.svg/8b142c91ebe468a84a192e6df2b7b994.jpg\\") Instagram posts stated on August 2, 2024 in a video: In Pompano Beach, Florida, Somali immigrants illegally in the U.S. were in line to get driver’s licenses and “all you need to vote is a driver\'s license.” ![\\"false\\"](\\" ![\\"false\\"](\\" By Kwasi Gyamfi Asiedu • August 7, 2024 ![](\\" ![](\\" Donald Trump stated on July 27, 2024 in a rally in St. Cloud, Minnesota: During the 2020 Minnesota riots after George Floyd’s murder, Gov. Tim Walz didn’t call in the National Guard, “so, I sent in the National Guard to save Minneapolis.” ![\\"false\\"](\\" ![\\"false\\"](\\" By Amy Sherman • August 7, 2024 ![](\\" ![](\\" Donald Trump stated on August 3, 2024 in a rally in Atlanta: Kamala Harris “supports mandatory gun confiscation.” ![\\"barely-true\\"](\\" th.jpg\\") ![\\"barely-true\\"](\\" barely-true.jpg\\") By Amy Sherman • August 7, 2024 ![](\\" ![](\\" Donald Trump stated on July 24, 2024 in a rally in Charlotte, North Carolina: Kamala Harris “wants to defund the police.” ![\\"barely-true\\"](\\" th.jpg\\") ![\\"barely-true\\"](\\" barely-true.jpg\\") By Amy Sherman • July 30, 2024 ![](\\" ![](\\" Donald Trump stated on July 24, 2024 in a rally in Charlotte, North Carolina: Kamala Harris “supported abolishing ICE.” ![\\"false\\"](\\" ![\\"false\\"](\\" By Amy Sherman • July 29, 2024 ![](\\" Instagram_logo_2016.svg/322c808c00e73c217d17772ddd5a0eb5.jpg\\") ![](\\" Instagram_logo_2016.svg/8b142c91ebe468a84a192e6df2b7b994.jpg\\") Instagram posts stated on July 22, 2024 in an Instagram post: There are nine states “where Biden’s name can’t be removed and no one can be added. That’s over 130 electoral votes in the toilet.” ![\\"false\\"](\\" ![\\"false\\"](\\" By Ranjan Jindal • July 23, 2024 ![](\\" ![](\\" Kamala Harris stated on July 17, 2024 in a campaign video: \"Unlike Mike Pence, (JD) Vance said he would have carried out Trump\'s plan to overturn the 2020 election.\" ![\\"mostly-true\\"](\\" th.jpg\\") ![\\"mostly-true\\"](\\" mostly-true.jpg\\") By Amy Sherman • July 18, 2024 ![](\\" ![](\\" Kari Lake stated on July 16, 2024 in in a speech at RNC in Milwaukee: “Just last week, Ruben Gallego voted to let the millions of people who poured into our country illegally cast a ballot in this upcoming election.” ![\\"false\\"](\\" ![\\"false\\"](\\" By Amy Sherman • July 17, 2024 ![](\\" ![](\\" JD Vance stated on August 25, 2024 in an interview on NBC\'s \"Meet the Press\": A zero-tolerance policy during the Trump administration \"led to less family separation than under Kamala Harris\' border policies.” ![\\"false\\"](\\" ![\\"false\\"](\\" By Amy Sherman • September 4, 2024 ![](\\" ![](\\" Donald Trump stated on August 26, 2024 in an interview with a podcaster: Vice President Kamala Harris “is a communist. … She is really a Marxist.” ![\\"pants-fire\\"](\\" th.jpg\\") ![\\"pants-fire\\"](\\" pants-fire.jpg\\") By Amy Sherman • September 4, 2024 ![](\\" ![](\\" Rick Scott stated on August 28, 2024 in a post on X: “This month alone, more than 16,000 non-citizens have been removed from the voter rolls in 3 states.” ![\\"half-true\\"](\\" th.jpg\\") ![\\"half-true\\"](\\" true.jpg\\") By Samantha Putterman • August 29, 2024 ### Fact-checking Louisiana Democrat’s claim about Black Americans and the right to vote * ![](\\" ![](\\" Facebook posts stated on September 13, 2024 in a post: Vice President Kamala Harris’ college professors disparaged her as their “worst student.” ![\\"pants-fire\\"](\\" th.jpg\\") ![\\"pants-fire\\"](\\" pants-fire.jpg\\") By Kwasi Gyamfi Asiedu • September 19, 2024 * ![](\\" ![](\\" Facebook posts stated on September 17, 2024 in a post: Photo shows Kamala Harris posing beside Sean “Diddy” Combs. ![\\"false\\"](\\" ![\\"false\\"](\\" By Sara Swann • September 19, 2024 * ![](\\" ![](\\" Instagram posts stated on September 18, 2024 in Instagram posts: “BREAKING: Police found ‘explosives’ in car near former President Donald Trump’s rally site on Long Island.” ![\\"false\\"](\\" ![\\"false\\"](\\" By Sofia Ahmed • September 19, 2024 * ![](\\" ![](\\" Dave McCormick stated on September 13, 2024 in an X post: Charleroi, Pennsylvania, “has grown by 2,000% due to an influx in migrants.” ![\\"false\\"](\\" ![\\"false\\"](\\" By Caleb McCullough • September 19, 2024 * ![](\\" ![](\\" Facebook posts stated on September 13, 2024 in una publicación en Facebook: \"El gran respaldo de Taylor Swift\" a Kamala Harris \"le cuesta $125 millones en acuerdos de marca\". ![\\"false\\"](\\" ![\\"false\\"](\\" By Maria Briceño • September 19, 2024 * ![](\\" ![](\\" Threads posts stated on September 16, 2024 in an Instagram post: Taylor Swift “lost 17 million followers by endorsing Kamala.” ![\\"false\\"](\\" ![\\"false\\"](\\" By Ciara O\'Rourke • September 19, 2024 * ![](\\" ![](\\" Kari Lake stated on September 13, 2024 in a post on X: Rep. Ruben Gallego’s “first act in Congress was to propose legislation to BAN the use of the term ‘illegal alien.’” ![\\"false\\"](\\" ![\\"false\\"](\\" By Mia Osmonbekov • September 19, 2024 * ![](\\" ![](\\" Sherrod Brown stated on September 4, 2024 in a TV interview: Of Bernie Moreno, “Now, he’s arguing for a national abortion ban, no exceptions.” ![\\"half-true\\"](\\" th.jpg\\") ![\\"half-true\\"](\\" true.jpg\\") By Caleb McCullough • September 19, 2024 * ![](\\" ![](\\" Facebook posts stated on September 16, 2024 in a Facebook post: “Country Music Television (CMT) has announced a permanent boycott of Taylor Swift.” ![\\"false\\"](\\" ![\\"false\\"](\\" By Ciara O\'Rourke • September 18, 2024 * ![](\\" ![](\\" Viral image stated on September 11, 2024 in a Facebook post: “Disney World officially moving to Nashville.” ![\\"false\\"](\\" ![\\"false\\"](\\" By Ciara O\'Rourke • September 18, 2024 Load more ### Support independent fact-checking. Become a member! 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One in 13 Black Americans are deprived of the right to vote