felon voting presentation

Felon Voting Rights: 

Felon Voting Rights The Roosevelt Institution: Center on Social Issues; Yale University Marcus Leonard Andrew Beaty Eva Bitran Mena Cammett

Agenda: 

Agenda Current state of felon disenfranchisement: US & CT Where does the US stand? Where does Connecticut stand? Recidivism and Civic Involvement What effect, if any, does civic involvement have on recidivism? Beyond Politics What would be gained form the expansion of the electorate?

US: Comparative Perspective: 

US: Comparative Perspective Among postindustrial democracies, the US is virtually the only nation to permanently disenfranchise ex-felons in many jurisdictions Exceptions: Finland, New Zealand and Germany disenfranchise some ex-felons for certain elections offenses, but only for a limited time.

CT Law: Current : 

CT Law: Current Public Act No. 01-11 took effect on January 1, 2002 to restore voting rights to convicted Connecticut felons currently on probation. As a direct result of this law, approximately 35,000 individuals regained the right to vote.

CT Law: Current (cont.): 

CT Law: Current (cont.) The law reads: “A person who has been confined to a federal or state correctional institution, correctional facility, or community residence can have his/her voting rights restored by submitting written proof to a city/town Registrar of Voters or other admitting official of their discharge from confinement and, if applicable, parole.”

CT Law: Comparative Perspective: 

CT Law: Comparative Perspective

Unequal Effects vis-à-vis Race: 

Unequal Effects vis-à-vis Race Currently, more than 13 percent of African-American men are without the right to vote. Blacks make up 36 percent of the disenfranchised population while they comprise only 12.3 percent of the general population. Similarly, 16 percent of Latino men will be imprisoned, whereas this is true of 4 percent of white men.

Factors that Reduce Recidivism: 

Factors that Reduce Recidivism Evidence shows that recidivism is reduced in those who enter stable work or family relationships Informal social control Young offenders are more likely to repeat criminal offenses due to their lack of experience in the labor market, educational attainment, and their lack of early-childhood advantages relative to their law-abiding peers. Is voting or civic engagement another factor?

Civic Involvement: 

Civic Involvement Voting is an integral aspect of democratic citizenship Theorists suggest that there is a link between being a stake-holder in society (that is, voting, property ownership, etc) and lack of criminal activity Major study finds a statistically significant negative correlation between voting and recidivism

Columbia Human Rights Law Review, (2004): Correlation: 

Columbia Human Rights Law Review, (2004): Correlation

Civic Involvement (cont.): 

Civic Involvement (cont.) The study cannot prove any causal relationship, but does find a correlation between voting and subsequent crime This effect is not entirely attributable to race, gender, criminal history, etc. (Uggens & Manza)

In their own words…: 

In their own words… Ex-felons perceive the right to vote as fundamental to citizenship “I think that just getting back in the community and being a contributing member is difficult enough. . . . And saying, “Yeah, we don’t value your vote either because you’re a convicted felon from how many years back,”okay? . . . But I,hopefully,have learned, have paid for that and would like to someday feel like a, quote, “normal citizen,” a contributing member of society, and you know that’s hard when every election you’re constantly being reminded, “Oh yeah, that’s right, I’m ashamed.” . . . It’s just like a little salt in the wound...” [Pamela, female prisoner, age 49; emphasis added] As a result, Disenfranchisement contributes to the “felon label” that inhibits reintegration (Uggen and Wakefield) “I didn’t do anything that would affect how I voted or anything. It’s not like I don’t have a brain anymore. . . .And I really don’t think it should go by the crime because that doesn’t have nothing to do with it. [Reconsidering] Well, that I could see, you know, if you did something that had something to do with an election, I could see it, but at least 99% of the people didn’t have to do with an election.” [Rita, female prisoner, age 41]

Politics of Felon Voting: 

Politics of Felon Voting The debate is often seen as political, rather than social due to perceptions of minority voting patterns. BUT: If there is, in fact, a correlation between ex-felons who vote and a lower rate of recidivism, it becomes a societal good to allow felons the right to vote.

Politics of Felon Voting Rights (cont.): 

Politics of Felon Voting Rights (cont.) In fact, support for felon voting rights comes from unexpected sources “The American Correctional Association affirms that voting is a fundamental right in a democracy and it considers a ban on voting after a felon is discharged from correctional supervision to be contradictory to the goals of a democracy, the rehabilitation of felons and their successful reentry to the community.” Governor Tom Vilsack of Iowa restored felon voting rights by executive order this summer, defending his action by affirming that “research shows that ex-offenders who vote are less likely to re-offend.”

Possible Solutions: 

Possible Solutions Probation education of Voting Rights Expanding enfranchisement to include parole. Legal action Does the current disenfranchisement law’s racialized tenor violate the letter of the law?

Voting Rights: Historical Perspective: 

Voting Rights: Historical Perspective In 1965, President Lyndon B Johnson persuaded Congress to pass his Voting Rights Act, an act that removed the right of states to impose restrictions on the electorate: “No voting qualification or prerequisite to voting or standard, practice, or procedure shall be imposed or applied by any State or political subdivision in a manner which results in a denial or abridgement of the right of any citizen of the United States to vote on account of race or color…”

Conclusion: 

Conclusion Civic life matters for ex-offenders Recidivism Informal social control “normal citizen” Although the felon disenfranchisement policy in CT is among the friendliest, improvements can be made. The Debate is CRITICAL: More than a political quarrel, felon disenfranchisement policy has significant negative effects while, studies suggest, felon enfranchisement policy has measurable positive effects.

Works Consulted: 

Works Consulted US Census www.infoline.org Uggen Manza Symposium www.prisonactivist.org Demos: A Network of Ideas and Action Uggen and Manza: American Sociological Review, 2002, Vol. 67 Columbia Human Rights Law Review, 2004