Locked out of elections

Felons wrongfully restricted from voting

Jackie Marquez / Asst. Opinion Editor / The USD Vista

The 2022 midterm elections are right around the corner. While USD students head to the polls, The Sentencing Project, an advocacy center devoted to ending felon disenfranchisement, estimates that two percent of American voters will miss out on this election. Because of past or present felony convictions. That is 4.6 million people who have wrongfully lost their right to vote.

The fact that felons are deprived of their right to vote is unjust. This disenfranchisement has racist origins and continues to disproportionately impact marginalized groups. It also contradicts patriotic ideals such as “no taxation without representation.” As such, these types of voting restrictions on felons should not be allowed, especially not as we approach midterms.

A felony conviction is a type of criminal conviction that typically deals with violent crimes. For example: drug crimes, arson, aggravated assault, vandalism and even supplying alcohol to minors.  These crimes are typically punished with a year or more in a state or federal prison.  Laws around felons and their right to vote vary by state, but the majority of states have made felons ineligible to vote. According to the National Conference of State Legislatures, in 15 states felons lose the right to vote during their sentence, as well as during parole or probation. After parole or probation is complete, they have the right to  vote again. In 11 states, felons lose their right to vote, even after their sentence is complete. In some states this is indefinitely; in others felons must receive a pardon from the governor.

Historically, laws that kept felons from voting were intended to bar people of color from participating in democracy. In a University of Minnesota study entitled “Ballot Manipulation and the ‘Menace of Negro Domination:’ Racial Threat and Felon Disenfranchisement in the United States,” researchers found that felony voting bans exponentially increased following the passage of the 15th Amendment, which gave African American men the right to vote. The study also found that these laws were most prominent in states with large populations of Black citizens.

During the Jim Crow Era, the period after slavery but before the civil rights movements of the 1960s, different types of laws were created to discourage people of color from voting.  Felon voting bans,  grandfather clauses and poll taxes all acted as a barrier to the voting booths. To discourage people of color from voting, lawmakers required individuals to pay a fee in order to register to vote.

While this fee applied to white people as well, grandfather clauses allowed voters to skip these payments if their grandfathers were able to vote. Because Black men had just gained the right to vote, this clause didn’t apply to them. We have done away with both grandfather clauses and poll taxes, but voting bans on felons still remain throughout the country. These bans must be left in the past, as their racially discriminatory motives still harm people of color today.

In the American culture of mass incarceration, people of color face systemic issues within the criminal justice system. Despite only making up 32 percent of the U.S. population, the NAACP reports that Black and Hispanic individuals represent 56 percent of incarcerated Americans. This is the result of said communities being overpoliced. Racial profiling leads to disproportional surveillance of nonwhite individuals. In fact, the NAACP also reports that Black people are five times more likely to be profiled by police than white people.

This over policing leads to disproportionate imprisonment rates between Black and white populations. As such, Black Americans are more likely to lose their right to vote. According to The Sentencing Project, one out of every 19 voting age African-Americans have lost their right to vote. This rate is three and a half times higher than the rate of disenfranchisement for non-African Americans. As long as the criminal justice system is inequitable, bans on felon voting will continue to contribute to racial injustice in our country. Ridding our U.S. election system of felon disenfranchisement is necessary to move toward racial equality.

Felon disenfranchisement is also incongruent with the American conceptualization of democracy. The argument for felon disenfranchisement is that, after committing a heinous crime, criminals should not be allowed to participate in civil society. They should be imprisoned and lose certain privileges and rights as punishment.

Although felon disenfranchisement is legal under the 14th Amendment, it contradicts fundamental rights as well as traditional American values.

First, prisoners retain their First Amendment rights in jail. They can send and receive mail to communicate with people outside of prisons. They can continue practicing their religions. They can even write for prison newspapers. Prisoners keep other fundamental rights while imprisoned, so it doesn’t make sense that a key right like voting is taken away as punishment. Voting should be among the rights they retain.

Secondly, refusing to let felons vote deprives America of their perspectives. These people have experienced the criminal justice system firsthand, so they should have a say in the political issues that impact it. In a system of government where representation is key, these people need to have their voices heard.

Lastly, one of early America’s key founding ideologies was “no taxation without representation.” In denying past and present felons the right to vote, the government robs these people of their representation, while still requiring them to pay taxes. The IRS confirmed that even if you spent time in prison, you are still obligated to pay taxes and debts upon release. If we require inmates to pay the taxes and debts accrued during their sentence, then they ought to be able to vote for who they want to represent them during that time.

Allowing felons to vote isn’t a radical idea. Both Vermont and Maine allow incarcerated people to vote. Their election laws regarding felons set the standard for the rest of the states. States like California have made progress toward eliminating restrictions on felon voting rights by putting the issue on the ballot. In the 2020 election, California passed Proposition 17 to restore voting rights to individuals on parole.

In order to move past the racist history of voting bans, progress toward racial equality, and better support the American ideal of democracy, felons must be allowed to vote. Their voices deserve to be heard. They are citizens just like anyone else. Legislation restoring the right to vote for these felons is imperative, especially with the upcoming midterm elections.