Former Felons Have a Right to VoteA criminal released from prison has paid his debt and we hope to integrate him back into society. Yet in most states, released felons are deprived of the right to vote, in some cases for the rest of their lives. In the past five years, five states have rescinded or modified their laws, restoring the vote to more than 450,000 people. Other states, and the federal government, should join this trend. Disenfranchising felons is an archaic practice, at odds with basic American values about both punishment and democracy.
The notion that former felons should not be allowed to vote dates back to medieval Europe, where criminals were banished from the community and deemed to have suffered "civil death." During the Jim Crow era in the South, felony disenfranchisement at times had a racial motive: white legislators in states like South Carolina and Alabama tailored laws to deny the vote to blacks.
Felony disenfranchisement remains widespread. In some states, the prohibition applies only while felons are in prison, or on probation or parole. But in 14 states, ex-offenders who have completed their sentences may not vote, usually for life. Nationwide, nearly four million people are disenfranchised by these laws, with the impact most severe on minority communities. According to a study by the Sentencing Project, felony disenfranchisement among black men is seven times the national average, and in Alabama and Florida, 31 percent of black men are permanently disenfranchised.
Taking the vote away from people after their release from prison permanently stigmatizes those whose misdeeds may be minor, and long in the past. (A first offender who pleads guilty to a minor felony, with no jail time, can end up disenfranchised for life.) This restriction on the scope of the electorate also cuts against the principle that the nation's government rests upon the consent of the governed.
There are movements afoot in several states, including Virginia and Alabama, to extend the vote to former felons. Representative John Conyers Jr., a Michigan Democrat, introduced a bill this month to grant former inmates the right to vote in federal elections. And the United States Court of Appeals for the 11th Circuit in Atlanta has a class-action suit before it seeking to strike down Florida's laws, which deny voting rights to more than 600,000 people. All of these efforts are worthy of support. This nation still believes in rehabilitating criminals who have served out their sentences. Restoring their right to vote is an important part of this process.
The notion that former felons should not be allowed to vote dates back to medieval Europe, where criminals were banished from the community and deemed to have suffered "civil death." During the Jim Crow era in the South, felony disenfranchisement at times had a racial motive: white legislators in states like South Carolina and Alabama tailored laws to deny the vote to blacks.
Felony disenfranchisement remains widespread. In some states, the prohibition applies only while felons are in prison, or on probation or parole. But in 14 states, ex-offenders who have completed their sentences may not vote, usually for life. Nationwide, nearly four million people are disenfranchised by these laws, with the impact most severe on minority communities. According to a study by the Sentencing Project, felony disenfranchisement among black men is seven times the national average, and in Alabama and Florida, 31 percent of black men are permanently disenfranchised.
Taking the vote away from people after their release from prison permanently stigmatizes those whose misdeeds may be minor, and long in the past. (A first offender who pleads guilty to a minor felony, with no jail time, can end up disenfranchised for life.) This restriction on the scope of the electorate also cuts against the principle that the nation's government rests upon the consent of the governed.
There are movements afoot in several states, including Virginia and Alabama, to extend the vote to former felons. Representative John Conyers Jr., a Michigan Democrat, introduced a bill this month to grant former inmates the right to vote in federal elections. And the United States Court of Appeals for the 11th Circuit in Atlanta has a class-action suit before it seeking to strike down Florida's laws, which deny voting rights to more than 600,000 people. All of these efforts are worthy of support. This nation still believes in rehabilitating criminals who have served out their sentences. Restoring their right to vote is an important part of this process.