Attorney General Eric Holder Jr. last week urged state and federal lawmakers to restore voting rights to felons who are no longer under supervision, calling restrictions in place now “profoundly outdated.”

Holder, speaking during a sentencing reform symposium at Georgetown University Law Center on Feb. 11, said laws that permanently disenfranchise former prisoners are “unjust” and “counterproductive.” At some point, Holder said, 95 percent of all the prisoners in the country will be released.