The Disenfranchised

 August, 2004

Most Americans assume that they have an inherent right to vote.  However, this is not true. Although the United States Constitution prevents discrimination based on race, sex and age, millions of Americans continue to be denied the right to vote, face extreme hardship or overt discrimination when trying to cast a ballot or register to vote.  

Upwards of 4.7 million Americans will never be able to vote because of their felony incarceration.  Some states including Florida, Virginia, Texas and Alabama permanently disenfranchise felons even after they have served their time. 

To learn more about felon disenfranchisement see The Right To Vote Campaign

For an in depth study: The Truly Disenfranchised: Felon Voting Rights and American Politics examines the intersection of felon/ex-felon disenfranchisement and the effect on electoral outcomes.

To find the state processes for ex-felon re-enfranchisement click here.  This is especially useful if you are an ex-felon, a friend/family member of an ex-felon or are simply curious about the policies and procedures individual states establish.  

But, it is not only felons that are disenfranchised or must overcome hurdles to participate in the voting process:

Even after the passage of the Voting Rights Act of 1965, minority groups continue to experience a disproportionately high level of voter intimidation and disenfranchisement. Minority groups are also more likely to cast ballots with outdated voting machines, complicated ballots or deal with overly complicated registration procedures

The NAACP and the People For the American Way (PFAW) compiled a study demonstrating the continuation of race-based voter intimidation. 

The Asian American Legal Defense and Education Fund put out the following report regarding Asian American voter disenfranchisement.

Americans living abroad and college students away at school face unique problems when trying to vote. Because voting is regulated by the states and not the federal government, every American citizen registers to vote in an individual state. But, if an American citizen abroad does not have a clear home address in a state, it becomes more difficult to register to vote.

PRNewswire reports on the voting ability American voters living abroad and gives an overview of how other countries enable expatriates to vote.

"A Right To Vote: Many U.S. Youths Abroad Are Denied" by Meg Bortin in the International Herald Tribune, March 9, 2004

Moreover, college students are all to often denied the right to register to vote in the communities in which their college is located. Though every college student has the right to register to vote in the district in which his or her college is located, local and city officials in towns and cities across the country have attempted to prevent students from voting for fear they could sway the outcome of an election. Students at Skidmore College and Hamilton College both in New York, William and Mary College in Virginia, the University of New Hampshire, Bowdoin College in Maine and most recently Prarie View A&M in Texas have all faced difficulty registering to vote because of city officials. In the case of Prarie View, the District Attorney publicly stated that if students attempted to register to vote they would be prosecuted for voter fraud.  Such actions run directly counter to one of the fundamental aims of education: to prepare students for citizenship and participation in our democracy.

The following articles describe the actions some districts utilize to limit the franchise for college voters.

"College Students Face Voting Barriers", by Michael Gormley in the Times Unions, September 27, 2004

"After complaints, county to decide if students can vote on campus", By Joel Stashenko, From the Associated Press, June 1, 2004

"Democracy and College Student Voting", a report compiled by Pace University Institute of Public Affairs, June 2001

"Banning the Vote" by Megan Tady, in WireTap, May 23, 2004

 Hear more about the Student Voting Rights Campaign and read a comprehensive report detailing student voting problems around the United States.  

For more information detailing campuses response to lower-student turnout: read a study by  The Institute of Politics at John F. Kennedy School of Government at Harvard University titled "Survey of College and University Voter Registration and Mobilization Efforts"

Colleges and Universities from around the nation that have experienced student voter disenfranchisement:

Arizona State University
"Students Angry at Report on Registration Practices" by Mitra Taj in Arizona Daily Wildcat, September 9, 2004

***The following Arizona State example shows what students and organizations can do together to overcome electoral obstacles***

"Fox Affiliate Releases Correction in Response to Voter Suppression Allegations", in the Feminist Daily Newswire, September 30, 2004

College of William and Mary
"Some W&M student voter forms never entered system", By Daphne Sashin in the Daily Press, November 4, 2004
"Young Voters Face Hurdles to Voting, Working at Polls" by Jessica Woods and Andrew Ryan in Electionline.org, July 21, 2004

Dartmouth College
"GOP Speaker decries student participation" by Samantha Lane, in The Dartmouth, January 16, 2003  
"Student Voters Stalled" by Omar Sacirbey in The Valley News, Nov. 6, 2002

Northwestern University
"Rules Committee Selects Map Drawn by Two Aldermen" by Mary Helt Gavin in the Evanston Roundtable, November 5, 2003

Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute:
"Student Voting Registration Questioned by Candidates" by Andrew Tibbetts in the Polytechnic, October 22, 2003

Skidmore College
"An Education in Intimidation:Skidmore student voters hit a roadblock to political participation" by Ashley Hahn in Metroland, July 26, 2004

University of Michigan
"Press Release, Office of Senator Liz Brater", September 17, 2004
"New Bills to Easer Student Voting", by Jameel Naqvi, in the Michigan Daily, September 21, 2004  

University of New Hamphsire

"Activists seek to sift fact from fiction in student voting" by Colin Manning in Foster's Daily Democrat, October 12, 2004

"Some students discouraged from registering in Durham" by the Associated Press, in The Primary Monitor, February 1, 2000