Over half a million people are in jail in America every single day. It is legal in many states for a jailed resident without a felony conviction to cast a ballot. This article by Eric Mulin is published by LX News. Here is an excerpt:

There are approximately 549,000 people in United States jails on a given day.

A vast majority of jailed Americans are either awaiting a trial or serving time for a misdemeanor, which makes them eligible to vote. It is legal in every state for a jailed resident without a felony conviction to cast a ballot.

But, in many jails, detained individuals don’t even have access to that legal right.

Read the full article here. You can also see more on this subject at either the Democracy Chronicles felon voting archive or African-American Voting Rights. Also, see our main section on American Democracy and our Voter Access articles focusing more broadly on the ease of voting and the various barriers in the way.