From Prison to the Polls

How a Memphis mother — and millions like her — are reclaiming democracy

It started with a simple dream: to go back to the voting booth.

For a Memphis mom who spent seven years incarcerated after going to prison at 19, it sounded almost quaint. After all, she had rebuilt so much already — a life, a home, a family. She was raising three young children and trying to model what civic responsibility looked like. But every time she tried to register to vote, she was told the same thing:

“You can’t. Ever.”

She heard it so often that eventually, she started to believe it. Maybe that was the point.

In Tennessee — the state with the highest rate of felony disenfranchisement in the country — she’s far from alone. Nearly half a million people in Tennessee are barred from voting, and the system seems almost designed to grind down even the most determined souls.

Some barriers are purely financial. In Tennessee, you’re required to pay off every last court fee and restitution dollar before your voting rights can even be considered — a modern poll tax, plain and simple. Other obstacles are bizarre: she discovered she’d have to restore her gun rights before she could restore her voting rights.

“I didn’t know I needed a gun to be able to vote,” she said, with the kind of tired humor only someone who has run the government’s bureaucratic gauntlet can muster. “If I wanted the right to own a gun, that’s what I’d have been looking for. I just want to vote.”

The rules keep changing. The paperwork piles up. And the message is clear: You don’t belong in the conversation, your voice doesn’t matter.

But that didn’t stop her.

When she finally got her voting rights restored, she walked into her polling place and cast her first ballot since Bill Clinton was on it. She cried as she voted. She felt a surge of belonging she hadn’t known she’d been missing. And almost immediately, she picked up the phone to call her uncles and cousins so they could start the process too.

The Hidden Truth About Felony Disenfranchisement

Many people assume that if you have a felony conviction, that’s it — end of the road. The right to vote is gone for life.

But in reality, about 80% of Americans with felony convictions can vote right now. They just don’t know it because no one tells them — and because the process of finding out feels like a secret handshake you were never taught.

That’s why our strategic partner, Campaign Legal Center (CLC), created Restore Your Vote. Bright America is proud to help fuel programs like this that ensure every American can exercise their right to vote.

It’s an online tool, free and confidential, that helps people answer a single, life-changing question: Can I vote in my state?

For many, the answer is yes. For others, it’s complicated, but not impossible. And thanks to CLC and its local partners, thousands of people have navigated the maze, reclaimed their rights, and returned to the polls.

A Community Refusing to Be Written Out

In Tennessee, Restore Your Vote partnered with Free Hearts, a grassroots organization led by formerly incarcerated women, as well as the Tennessee NAACP and pro bono lawyers willing to take on the state’s ever-shifting rules.

These groups have become lifelines for people who feel like they’re shouting into the void. When the courts move the goalposts — or throw up new barriers — there is someone to call. Someone who knows what the next step should be.

And step by step, vote by vote, this movement is proving something that ought to be obvious: democracy is stronger when everyone has a voice.

I’m not a felon — who cares?

It’s easy to think of this as someone else’s fight, and harder still for some to feel sympathy for those our society writes off as “bad guys” — despite having served their time. But every time a neighbor, coworker, or parent is cut out of the democratic process, it chips away at something bigger.

When tens of millions of Americans are told they don’t get a say — when a single vote is treated as a threat — that should concern all of us.

This is about more than restoring paperwork. It’s about restoring dignity, belonging, and power.

As our Memphis mom put it, “Just the thought that somebody’s even out here fighting for people like me — that means everything.”

How You Can Help Restore the Vote

If you’ve ever wondered what you can do to protect democracy, here’s an answer:

• Share RestoreYourVote.org. You never know who in your community might need it — or, better yet, maybe you do!

• Support this work. Bright America helps fuel this national project because we believe every voice matters. If you do too, consider getting involved or making a gift.

• Talk about it. The more we shine a light on these hidden barriers, the harder they are to maintain.

No one should have to fight this hard just to be heard. But as long as the fight is necessary, there will be people — lawyers, organizers, neighbors — walking alongside those determined to reclaim their place in our democracy.

And that is something worth celebrating.