The Problem of Felon Disenfranchisement

Beaker · Jul 16, 2012

Almost every state has a statute that restricts the voting of ex-felons (and current ones). They've always been around, but a recent report demonstrates that those disenfranchised because of criminal records has risen 9 percent since 2004 (the statistics are of 2010). 1 in 40! U.S. adults (2.5 percent of the voting population) are now disenfranchised because of past felonies.

The full report is here (http://www.sentencingproject.org/doc/publications/fd_State_Level_Estimates_of_Felon_Disen_2010.pdf), but here's the quick summary:

The United States is one of the world’s strictest nations when it comes to denying the right to vote to citizens convicted of crimes. A remarkable 5.85 million Americans are forbidden to vote because of “felon disenfranchisement,” or laws restricting voting rights for those convicted of felony-level crimes. In this election year, the question of voting restrictions is once again receiving great public attention. This report is intended to update and expand our previous work on the scope and distribution of felon disenfranchisement in the United States (see Uggen and Manza 2002; Manza and Uggen 2006). The numbers presented here represent our best assessment of the state of felon disenfranchisement as of December 31, 2010, the most recent year for which complete data are available. Our goal is to provide statistics that will help contextualize and anticipate the potential effects of felon disenfranchisement on elections in November 2012.

Our key findings include the following:

Approximately 2.5 percent of the total U.S. voting age population -- 1 of every 40 adults -- is disenfranchised due to a current or previous felony conviction.

Ex-felons in the eleven states that disenfranchise people after they have completed their sentences make up about 45 percent of the entire disenfranchised population, totaling over 2.6 million people.

The number of people disenfranchised due to a felony conviction has escalated dramatically in recent decades as the population under criminal justice supervision has increased. There were an estimated 1.17 million people disenfranchised in 1976, 3.34 million in 1996, and over 5.85 million in 2010.

Rates of disenfranchisement vary dramatically by state due to broad variations in voting prohibitions. In six states -- Alabama, Florida, Kentucky, Mississippi, Tennessee, and Virginia -- more than 7 percent of the adult population is disenfranchised.

1 of every 13 African Americans of voting age is disenfranchised, a rate more than four times greater than non-African Americans. Nearly 7.7 percent of the adult African American population is disenfranchised compared to 1.8 percent of the non-African American population.

African American disenfranchisement rates also vary significantly by state. In three states -- Florida (23 percent), Kentucky (22 percent), and Virginia (20 percent) -- more than one in five African Americans is disenfranchised.
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The Times published an editorial yesterday: http://www.nytimes.com/2012/07/16/opinion/disenfranchised-felons.html

These limits are seriously counterproductive. Former offenders who are allowed to vote are less likely to return to prison and more likely to become reintegrated into their communities. Public opinion and efforts by some states to restore voting rights to ex-felons in some circumstances reflect that view. But because the justice system locks up so many people every year, many more people lose their voting rights than benefit from the state efforts.
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The Times is right. States already face immense difficulties re-integrating former prisoners into society, and voting restrictions certainly don't help.

2.5 percent doesn't sound like a big number, but it's huge and frankly somewhat disturbing. These restrictions are only in place because of tradition, and it's time to soften them.

Dick Whitman · Jul 16, 2012

It's absolutely absurd, and in my mind, should be unconstitutional. Not sure offhand if the Supreme Court has ever addressed the issue, though.

The Big Ragu · Jul 16, 2012

I've actually seen numbers that suggest that 1 in 30 or 1 in 35 Americans is either in prison or on parole.

I think the bigger question is why do we have rates of incarceration that blow away the rate of any other western country in the world (*cough cough* drug laws)?

Beaker · Jul 16, 2012

Dick Whitman said:

It's absolutely absurd, and in my mind, should be unconstitutional. Not sure offhand if the Supreme Court has ever addressed the issue, though.
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I've never actually read the case and hardly knew anything about it, but felon disenfranchisement laws were held constitutional in Richardson v. Ramirez, 418 U.S. 24 (1974).

http://supreme.justia.com/cases/federal/us/418/24/

Apparently the Court held strict scrutiny not applicable to felon disenfranchisement laws.

2. California, in disenfranchising convicted felons who have completed their sentences and paroles, does not violate the Equal Protection Clause. Pp. 418 U. S. 41-56.
(a) The understanding of the framers of the Fourteenth Amendment, as reflected in the express language of § 2 of the Amendment, which exempts from the sanction of reduced congressional representation resulting from the denial of citizens' right to vote the denial of such right for "participation in rebellion, or other crime," and in the historical and judicial interpretation of the Amendment's applicability to state laws disenfranchising felons, is of controlling significance in distinguishing such laws from those other state limitations on the franchise that this Court has held invalid under the Equal Protection Clause. Pp. 418 U. S. 54-55.
(b) Section 1 of the Fourteenth Amendment, which contains the Equal Protection Clause, in dealing with voting rights as it does, could not have been meant to bar outright a form of disenfranchisement that was expressly exempted from the less drastic sanction of reduced representation that § 2 imposed for other forms of disenfranchisement. P. 418 U. S. 55.
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Amy · Jul 16, 2012

There have also been challenges arguing that the state laws violate the Voting Rights Act but the Supreme Court declined to review when it had the opportunity a couple of years ago.

Lieslntx · Jul 16, 2012

The Big Ragu said:

I've actually seen numbers that suggest that 1 in 30 or 1 in 35 Americans is either in prison or on parole.

I think the bigger question is why do we have rates of incarceration that blow away the rate of any other western country in the world (*cough cough* drug laws)?
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My first, easy answer is that people should stop being felons.

But Ragu brings up a good point. Our incarceration rates are staggering.

Football_Bat · Jul 16, 2012

But hey, let's keep sending possessors of a few rocks of crack to prison for 10 years. And three-time shoplifters go for life.

Big Penitentia demands it ... and so does its benefactors.

LongTimeListener · Jul 16, 2012

Then there's the matter of Florida 2000 when so many people -- enough to swing the election Gore's way -- were barred from voting because of nonexistent felony convictions.

Stitch · Jul 16, 2012

The Big Ragu said:

I've actually seen numbers that suggest that 1 in 30 or 1 in 35 Americans is either in prison or on parole.

I think the bigger question is why do we have rates of incarceration that blow away the rate of any other western country in the world (*cough cough* drug laws)?
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You can rape someone and spend less time in prison than if you're caught selling weed. What a country!

KYSportsWriter · Jul 16, 2012

Football_Bat said:

And three-time shoplifters go for life.
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The three strike rule? That's stupid.

Football_Bat · Jul 16, 2012

Stitch said:

The Big Ragu said:

I've actually seen numbers that suggest that 1 in 30 or 1 in 35 Americans is either in prison or on parole.

I think the bigger question is why do we have rates of incarceration that blow away the rate of any other western country in the world (*cough cough* drug laws)?
Click to expand...

You can rape someone and spend less time in prison than if you're caught selling weed. What a country!
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Or if you're Kobe Bryant, you can spend NO TIME AT ALL.

No wonder he loves Colorado.

Starman · Jul 16, 2012

Maybe people should quit committing felonies?

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The Problem of Felon Disenfranchisement

Beaker Active Member

Dick Whitman Well-Known Member

The Big Ragu Moderator Staff Member

Beaker Active Member

Amy Well-Known Member

Lieslntx Active Member

Football_Bat Well-Known Member

LongTimeListener Well-Known Member

Stitch Active Member

KYSportsWriter Well-Known Member

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The Problem of Felon Disenfranchisement

Beaker Active Member

Dick Whitman Well-Known Member

The Big Ragu Moderator Staff Member

Beaker Active Member

Amy Well-Known Member

Lieslntx Active Member

Football_Bat Well-Known Member

LongTimeListener Well-Known Member

Stitch Active Member

KYSportsWriter Well-Known Member

Football_Bat Well-Known Member

Starman Well-Known Member

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