What is Disenfranchisement?
"Deprive of right, especially voting: to deprive
a person or organization of a privilege, immunity, or legal right, especially the right to vote. Disfranchisement may occur
explicitly through law, or implicitly through means such as intimidation." (Merriam-Webster, 2007)
How
many are disenfranchised?
"5.3 million people are legally disenfranchised; that number doubles when
we talk about noncompliance in states where people are allowed to vote but essentially prevented from doing so because they
are asked to present nonexistent documents, or are incorrectly told they do not have the right, or where there is widespread
ignorance of the laws even among elections administrators." (2006 Right To Vote Campaign)
Is voting
a privilege or a right?
"The Congress finds that the right of citizens of the United States to vote
is a fundamental right..." (National Voter Registration Act of 1993)
"And history has seen a continuing
expansion of the scope of the right of suffrage in this country. The right to vote freely for the candidate of one's choice
is of the essence of a democratic society, and any restrictions on that right strike at the heart of representative government."
(U.S. Supreme Court: Reynolds v. Sims)
"President Johnson called
the right to vote the lifeblood of our democracy. That was true then and it remains true today." (George W. Bush, U.S.
President)
"It is wrongly -- deadly wrong -- to deny any of your fellow
Americans the right to vote [...] it is really all of us, who must overcome the crippling legacy of bigotry and injustice.
And we shall overcome." (Lyndon B. Johnson, U.S. President)
What about voting rights in other democracies?
Most democracies give ex-offenders the same voting rights as other citizens. In Finland and New Zealand felons
are restricted to vote for several years after their release from prison, but only if the offender was convicted of voting
fraud or corruption, and it is restored after that.
Several European countries, such as France and Germany,
permit disenfranchisement on some occasion, but only by special court order.
Many countries even allow their inmates
to vote, examples are Canada, the Czech Republic, Denmark, France, Israel, Japan, Kenya, Netherlands, Norway, Peru, Poland,
Romania, Sweden and Zimbabwe. Laws in Germany even demand prisons to encourage prisoners to vote. Only those convicted of
electoral fraud and crimes undermining the "democratic order", such as treason are barred from voting, while in
prison.
Does continuing to disenfranchise former felons reduce crime?
No. Disenfranchisement
does not help achieve any of the four goals penal policies pursue: incapacitation, deterrence, retribution, and rehabilitation.Research does
show that felons who vote are less than half as likely to return to criminal lifestyles compared to those who don't.
"The franchise is not important to them
(former felons)/Even if they can vote, they won't."
Whether they decide to vote or not is irrelevant- it's their right. Many Americans don't vote, but we do
not bar them from the polls because they choose not to exercise their fundamental right as citizens.
"Felons
should lose their ability to vote because they can no longer be trusted to make good decisions."
Just as soon as every American who was in favor of the War on Iraq does! The truth is we already do trust a felon's
judgment. We trust their judgment every day to drive a car, drink a beer, start a family, or else we wouldn't have released
them from prison in the first place.
Taxation Without Representation?
"Ex-felons
who manage to become gainfully employed are still required to pay taxes even though they are denied the benefits associated
with those duties such as the ability to elect their representatives or to decide on policies that will govern their lives,
and lives of their families. Centuries ago this prospect of taxation without representation was untenable to some Americans.
Today, however, such a policy is acceptable, as long as the voice that is denied is that of the ex-felons. Consequently, by
alienating ex-felons and treating them as non-citizens, felon disenfranchisement laws merely contribute to the difficult process
of reintegration for the ex-felon." (S. David Mitchell, J.D.,2004)
"Felons shouldn't
vote because they might commit voter fraud."
So the best way to prevent voter fraud is to prevent
people from voting all together??
"If you break the rules, you don't get to help make the
rules."
And they don't - during the time they were incarcerated. How can we expect people to abide
by all the rules of society if we don't ensure them all the rights of society?
What do the pros say?
National Recommendations Favor Automatic Restoration:
The American Correctional Association
(ACA), the professional body of corrections leaders who accredit penal institutions, in its 2001 Resolution, which was updated
in 2004, "advocates for the restoration of voting rights upon completion of the offender's sentence, including community
supervision." The National Commission on Federal Election Reform,
chaired by former Presidents Ford and Carter, unanimously recommended that voting rights be automatically restored upon completion
of sentence. The American Bar Association in 2003 adopted a set of standards
relating to the collateral consequences of a felony conviction that oppose restricting the vote of those not in prisons.
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