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By Julie Ebenstein, Staff Attorney, ACLU Voting Rights Project On Tuesday, Attorney General Eric Holder expressed his support for restoring voting rights to citizens who have committed a felony after they serve their terms in prison, complete parole or probation, and pay any restitution fines. While the ACLU believes rights should automatically be restored upon release from prison and being too poor to pay fines shouldn't leave you without a voice in our democracy, this is an important step in the right direction. The federal government has rightfully acknowledged how post-Civil War era criminal disfranchisement laws intended to suppress the voting rights of African Americans "defy the principles of accountability and rehabilitation that guide our criminal justice policies." This also isn't a problem that only affects a few people. If the more than 5.8 million disenfranchised Americans lived in a state of their own, that state would have 10 votes in the electoral college.