Due to a chain of court decisions, roughly 56,000 formerly incarcerated people on probation or parole are now eligible to vote in North Carolina’s midterm elections. A 2019 lawsuit filed by several non-profits challenged a 1973 state law disenfranchising people still serving out felony sentences through probation or parole.

In the lawsuit, the non-profits point out that this 1973 law disproportionately targets Black people, particularly Black men, in North Carolina.

Although it is still possible that the North Carolina state Supreme Court could reverse the decision allowing people with felony convictions to vote, voting rights advocates are viewing the recent development as an important step in the fight for equity at the ballot box.

The Takeaway spoke with Rusty Jacobs, Politics Reporter for WUNC, North Carolina Public Radio.