When the Senate rejected moving ahead on major voting rights legislation, it jeopardized President Joe Biden's promise to incentivize states to automatically restore voting rights for felons who have served their sentences. 

Biden supported federal legislation that went further than his promise: H.R. 1, a sweeping voting rights bill, included a provision to require states to restore felons' voting rights for federal elections after they leave prison. We moved Biden's promise to In the Works after the bill passed the House in March.

But in June, the Senate voted 50-50  to proceed with debate, falling 10 votes short to move forward. That vote effectively blocked the legislation in the Senate.

The states, not the federal government, set laws about whether felons lose their voting rights and how they can regain them. In the District of Columbia, Maine and Vermont, felons never lose their right to vote, even while incarcerated, according to an analysis by the National Conference of State Legislatures. In 21 states, felons lose their voting rights only while incarcerated, and receive automatic restoration upon release. In some other states, felons have to meet certain requirements to regain voting rights, such as waiting for a certain period of time or paying off fines, fees and restitution.

Supporters of restoring voting rights to felons say they should have the same rights no matter where they live in the U.S. Opponents of such a national policy say that state lawmakers should retain the power to set their own voting laws. 

The demise of the bill in the Senate leaves Democrats with the option of trying to pass more narrow bills to expand voting rights, but so far they haven't made progress. Sen. Benjamin Cardin, D-Md., introduced a bill in February to restore voting rights to felons when they leave prison, but it hasn't moved forward. The legislation states that in 2020, an estimated 5.2 million citizens could not vote as a result of a felony conviction and that the majority were no longer in prison.

We asked advocates in favor of restoring felons' voting rights what steps the Biden administration could take to achieve this promise.

Neil Volz, deputy director of the Florida Rights Restoration Coalition, said that some streams of federal funding could be tied to states restoring voting rights to felons. As a candidate, Biden proposed a $20 billion competitive grant program to spur states to shift from incarceration to prevention. 

As part of such a program, the federal government could require states to end felony disenfranchisement and any related policies, such as those that require payment of legal financial obligations in order to vote, Volz said. 

States "could apply to receive funding to invest in efforts to promote civic engagement and education, which hold their own benefits for community development and public safety," Volz said.

Biden has time to try to find a way to incentivize states to restore voting rights to felons, but for now it appears that states will continue to chart their own path with varying policies. We rate this promise Stalled. 

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As a presidential candidate, Joe Biden promised to incentivize states to automatically restore voting rights for individuals convicted of felonies once they have served their sentences. 

As president, he hasn't done that, but he has supported pending legislation that would go a step further: requiring states to restore felons' voting rights for federal elections after they leave prison. 

The legislation, H.R 1, passed the House in March and had a hearing in a Senate committee, but it's unlikely it can pick up enough Senate Republican support to get past a filibuster. Biden called H.R. 1 "landmark legislation" that will protect the right to vote and strengthen democracy.

Currently, each state sets its own laws about whether felons lose their voting rights and how they can regain them. In the District of Columbia, Maine and Vermont, felons never lose their right to vote, even while they are incarcerated, according to a January analysis by the National Conference of State Legislatures. In some states, felons lose their voting rights while they are incarcerated but have them automatically restored upon release. In other states, felons regain voting rights after completing parole or probation, and sometimes after paying outstanding fines or fees. 

H.R. 1 seeks to make the rules uniform nationwide. Supporters of the bill say voting rights shouldn't depend on where you live, while critics say state elected officials should retain the right to set election laws for their own jurisdictions.

Supporting federal legislation doesn't precisely match Biden's promise to incentivize states, but it aims for the same goal: restoring voting rights for felons. For now, we rate this promise In the Works.

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