1932
0
  1. Home
  2. A-Z Publications
  3. Annual Review of Law and Social Science
  4. Volume 13, 2017
  5. Article

Annual Review of Law and Social Science

Volume 13, 2017

Felon Disenfranchisement

Abstract

Crime control and prisons have featured prominently in electoral campaigns, yet currently and formerly incarcerated people are a profoundly disenfranchised constituency in the United States. This article examines the extent to which this population and its concerns have been excluded from American electoral politics. Starting with the philosophical debate on the extent of the right to vote, the article examines the scope of felon disenfranchisement in the United States, including comparative perspectives, policies in states that allow voting within prisons, and eligibility to run for office with a criminal record. The article also examines the problematic underlying issue of racial exclusion via felon disenfranchisement; the impact of disenfranchisement on civic engagement and recidivism; and the perspectives of disenfranchised, formerly incarcerated people. The article ends with thoughts on the prospects of bipartisan reform of voting rights.

Keyword(s): collateral consequences, felon disenfranchisement, prison, race, voting
Loading

Article metrics loading...

/content/journals/10.1146/annurev-lawsocsci-110316-113558
2017-10-13
2024-04-18
Loading full text...

Full text loading...

/deliver/fulltext/lawsocsci/13/1/annurev-lawsocsci-110316-113558.html?itemId=/content/journals/10.1146/annurev-lawsocsci-110316-113558&mimeType=html&fmt=ahah

Literature Cited

  1. Alexander M. 2012. The New Jim Crow: Mass Incarceration in the Age of Colorblindness New York: New
  2. Allard PE. 1999. Regaining the Vote: An Assessment of Activity Relating to Felon Disenfranchisement Laws Washington, DC: Sentencing Proj.
  3. Apuzzo M. 2014. Holder urges states to lift bans on felons' voting. New York Times Feb. 11. https://www.nytimes.com/2014/02/12/us/politics/holder-urges-states-to-repeal-bans-on-voting-by-felons.html
  4. Aviram H. 2015. Cheap on Crime: Recession-Era Politics and the Transformation of American Punishment Oakland: Univ. Calif. Press
  5. Baker P. 2015. Obama, in Oklahoma, takes reform message to the prison cell block. New York TimesJuly 16
  6. Baldwin B. 2015. Backsliding: the United States Supreme Court, Shelby County v. Holder and the dismantling of Voting Rights Act of 1965. Berkeley J. Afr. Am. Law Policy 17:251–62 [Google Scholar]
  7. Balko R. 2013. The Rise of the Warrior Cop: The Militarization of America's Police Forces New York: Public Aff.
  8. Baum D. 2016. Legalize it all: how to win the war on drugs. Harper's Magazine April. http://harpers.org/archive/2016/04/legalize-it-all/
  9. Beckett K. 1997. Making Crime Pay: Law and Order in Contemporary American Politics Oxford: Oxford Univ. Press
  10. Bennett B. 2016. Penal disenfranchisement. Crim. Law Philos. 10:411–25 [Google Scholar]
  11. Bilotta L, Heumann M, Pinaire B. 2003. Barred from the vote: public attitudes toward the disenfranchisement of felons. Fordham Urban Law J 30:1519–50 [Google Scholar]
  12. Brooks C, Manza J, Uggen C. 2004. Public attitudes toward felon disenfranchisement in the United States. Public Opin. Q. 62:275–86 [Google Scholar]
  13. Bush DK. 2006. My Father, My President New York: Warner Books
  14. Bush GHW. 1989. President George H.W. Bush Inaugural Address. https://www.c-span.org/video/?c4294402/president-george-hw-bush-inaugural-address
  15. Cammett A. 2012. Shadow citizens: felony disenfranchisement and the criminalization of debt. Pa. State Law Rev. 117:349–405 [Google Scholar]
  16. Cannon L. 1991. President Reagan: The Role of a Lifetime New York: Public Aff.
  17. Carter J. 1976. Campaign speech, Detroit, October 15. A Government as Good as Its People Little Rock: Univ. Ark. Press, 2nd ed.. [Google Scholar]
  18. Clegg R. 2001. Who should vote?. Tex. Rev. Law Politics 6:159–78 [Google Scholar]
  19. Clegg R, Conway G, Lee K. 2008. The case against felon voting. Univ. St. Thomas J. Law Public Policy 2:1–18 [Google Scholar]
  20. CNN Politics 2004. Clinton: Time again to choose a more perfect union. CNN Politics, July 27 http://www.cnn.com/2004/ALLPOLITICS/07/26/dems.clinton.transcript/ [Google Scholar]
  21. Comm. Pres. Debate. 2000. The second Gore-Bush presidential debate Debate transcript, Oct. 11. http://www.debates.org/index.php?page=october-11-2000-debate-transcript
  22. Comm. Pres. Debate. 2012a. President Barack Obama and former Gov. Mitt Romney, R-Mass., presidential candidate, participate in a candidates debate, University of Denver, Colorado Debate transcript, Oct. 3. http://debates.org/index.php?page=october-3-2012-debate-transcript
  23. Comm. Pres. Debate. 2012b. Rep. Paul Ryan, R.-Wis., Vice Presidential Candidate, and Vice President Joseph R. Biden Jr. participate in a candidates debate, Danville, Kentucky Debate transcript, Oct. 11. http://www.debates.org/index.php?page=october-11-2012-the-biden-romney-vice-presidential-debate
  24. Cooper v. Harris 581 U.S. __ 2017.
  25. Daley S. 1994. Clinton shows Democrats tough crime talk wins political points. Chicago Tribune, April 17 http://articles.chicagotribune.com/1994-04-17/news/9404170204_1_crime-bill-crime-prevention-violent-crime [Google Scholar]
  26. Dao J. 2000. The 2000 campaign: the crime issue; a get-tough Gore focuses on drug tests. New York Times May 3. http://www.nytimes.com/2000/05/03/us/the-2000-campaign-the-crime-issue-a-get-tough-gore-focuses-on-drug-tests.html [Google Scholar]
  27. Demleitner N. 2000. Continuing payment on one's debt to society: the German model of felon disenfranchisement as an alternative. Minn. Law Rev. 84:753–81 [Google Scholar]
  28. Desmarais S, Mitchell R, Rade C. 2016. A meta-analysis of public attitudes toward ex-offenders. Crim. Justice Behav. 43:1260–80 [Google Scholar]
  29. Ebenstein J. 2017. The Alabama governor just signed a bill that will restore voting rights to thousands of Alabamians. Speak Freely, American Civil Liberties Union Blog May 26. https://www.aclu.org/blog/speak-freely/alabama-governor-just-signed-bill-will-restore-voting-rights-thousands-alabamians
  30. Ewald A. 2002. “Civil death”: the ideological paradox of criminal disenfranchisement law in the United States. Wis. Law Rev. 2002:1045–138 [Google Scholar]
  31. Ewald A, Rottinghaus B. 2009. Criminal Disenfranchisement in an International Perspective Cambridge, UK: Cambridge Univ. Press
  32. Feinberg M. 2011. Suffering without suffrage: why felon disenfranchisement constitutes vote denial under section two of the Voting Rights Act. Hastings Race Poverty Law J 8:61–103 [Google Scholar]
  33. Fla. Parole Comm. 2011–2012 Annual Report Tallahassee: Fla. Parole Comm https://www.fcor.state.fl.us/docs/reports/FCORannualreport201112.pdf
  34. Ford G. 1979. A Time to Heal: The Autobiography of Gerald Ford New York: Harper & Row
  35. Gartner R, Doob AN, Zimring F. 2011. The past as prologue? Decarceration in California then and now. Criminol. Public Policy 10:20291–325 doi: 10.1111/j.1745-9133.2011.00709.x [Google Scholar]
  36. Ghaelian J. 2013. Restoring the vote: former felons, international law, and the Eighth Amendment. Hastings Const. Law Q. 40:757–804 [Google Scholar]
  37. Grey A. 2014. Securing felons' voting rights in America. Berkeley J. Afr. Am. Law Policy 16:3–31 [Google Scholar]
  38. Haase M. 2015. Civil death in modern times: reconsidering felony disenfranchisement in Minnesota. Minn. Law Rev. 99:1913–33 [Google Scholar]
  39. Hamilton-Smith G, Vogel M. 2012. The violence of voicelessness: the impact of felony disenfranchisement on recidivism. Berkeley La Raza J 22:407–31 [Google Scholar]
  40. Harpster N, Vaughn M. 2016. Felon disenfranchisement laws: a review of current policies, challenges of disenfranchisement laws, and recent trends in legislative and legal change. Crim. Law Bull. 52:1–26 [Google Scholar]
  41. Hinton E. 2016. From the War on Poverty to the War on Crime: The Making of Mass Incarceration in America Cambridge, MA: Harvard Univ. Press
  42. Holian D. 2004. He's stealing my issues! Clinton's crime rhetoric and the dynamics of issue ownership. Political Behav 26:95–124 [Google Scholar]
  43. Horsley S. 2015. Obama visits federal prison, a first for a sitting president. NPRJuly 16 http://www.npr.org/sections/itsallpolitics/2015/07/16/423612441/obama-visits-federal-prison-a-first-for-a-sitting-president
  44. Humes K, Jones N, Ramirez R. 2011. Overview of race and Hispanic origin: 2010 2010 Census Briefs, US Dep. Commerce, Oct. 29. http://www.census.gov/prod/cen2010/briefs/c2010br-02.pdf
  45. Hunter v. Underwood 471 U.S. 222 1985.
  46. Jones D. 2015. When the fallout of a criminal conviction goes too far: challenging collateral consequences. Stanford J. Civ. Rights Civ. Lib. 11:237–68 [Google Scholar]
  47. Klein J. 2003. The Natural: The Misunderstood Presidency of Bill Clinton New York: Broadway Books
  48. Kornblut AE, Johnson G. 2000. Candidates cheer running mates, woo undecideds. Boston Globe Oct. 7
  49. Kuttner R. 2008. Obama's Challenge: America's Economic Crisis and the Power of a Transformative Presidency White River Junction, VT: Chelsea Green
  50. Lopez I. 2010. Post-racial racism: racial stratification and mass incarceration in the age of Obama. Calif. Law Rev. 98:1023–73 [Google Scholar]
  51. Manza J, Brooks C, Uggen C. 2004. Public attitudes toward felon disenfranchisement in the United States. Public Opin. Q. 68:5275–86 [Google Scholar]
  52. Manza J, Uggen C. 2008. Locked Out: Felon Disenfranchisement and American Democracy New York: Oxford Univ. Press
  53. Mauer M. 2000. Felon voting disenfranchisement: a growing collateral consequence of mass incarceration. Fed. Sentencing Rep 125248–51 [Google Scholar]
  54. McCain J. 2008. Remarks by John McCain to the 99th Annual NAACP Convention. JohnMcCain.com July 16. http://2008election.procon.org/sourcefiles/McCain20080716.pdf
  55. McGinley A. 2015. Policing and the clash of masculinities. Howard Law J 59:221–70 [Google Scholar]
  56. Mendell D. 2007. Obama: From Promise to Power New York: Harper Collins
  57. Miller L. 2010. The Perils of Federalism: Race, Poverty, and the Politics of Crime Control New York: Oxford Univ. Press
  58. Natl. Conf. State Legis. 2016. Felon voting rights. National Conference of State Legislatures Sept. 29. http://www.ncsl.org/research/elections-and-campaigns/felon-voting-rights.aspx
  59. New York Times Politics. 2007. Transcript of the third Democratic Primary presidential debate. New York TimesJune 28 http://www.nytimes.com/2007/06/28/us/politics/29transcript.html?pagewanted=all&_r=0
  60. New York Times Politics. 2008. The Democratic debate in South Carolina. New York Times Jan. 21. http://www.nytimes.com/2008/01/21/us/politics/21demdebate-transcript.html?pagewanted=all [Google Scholar]
  61. Nunn R. 2005. Lock them up and throw away the vote. Chicago J. Int. Law 5:763–84 [Google Scholar]
  62. Obama B. 2008a. Remarks of Senator Barack Obama: 99th Annual Convention of the NAACP. Obama News & SpeechesJuly 14 http://2008election.procon.org/sourcefiles/Obama20080714.pdf
  63. Obama B. 2008b. Chicago church campaign speech, March 18, 2008. Change We Can Believe In New York: Three Rivers [Google Scholar]
  64. Obama B. 2017. The President's role in advancing criminal justice reform. Harvard Law Rev 130:811–66 [Google Scholar]
  65. Obama for America. 2008. The blueprint for change: Barack Obama's plan for America Campaign bookl., Obama for America Feb. 2
  66. Pfaff J. 2016. Donald Trump's wild portrayal of crime is simply not true. Nation Sept. 27. https://www.thenation.com/article/donald-trumps-wild-portrayal-of-crime-is-simply-not-true/
  67. Pfaff J. 2017. Locked In: The True Causes of Mass Incarceration—and How to Achieve Real Reform New York: Basic Books
  68. Ratliff v. Beale 20 So. 865 1896.
  69. Roach v. Electoral Commissioner 2007. HCA 43, CLR 162
  70. Robinson Z. 2016. Constitutional personhood. George Wash. Law Rev. 84:605–67 [Google Scholar]
  71. Sharpless R. 2016. Immigrants are not criminals: respectability, immigration reform, and hyperincarceration. Houston Law Rev 53:691–765 [Google Scholar]
  72. Shelby County v. Holder 133 S. Ct. 2612 2013.
  73. Simon J. 2007. Governing through Crime: How the War on Crime Transformed American Democracy and Created a Culture of Fear New York: Oxford Univ. Press
  74. Spears T. 2014. Civil death in a modern world: criminal disenfranchisement and the First Amendment. Crit. Stud. J. 7:91–108 [Google Scholar]
  75. Steinacker A. 2003. Prisoner's campaign: felony disenfranchisement laws and the right to hold public office. Brigham Young Univ. Law Rev. 2003:801–28 [Google Scholar]
  76. Tanfani J, Halper E. 2017. Sessions restores tough drug war policies that trigger mandatory minimum sentences. Los Angeles Times May 12. http://www.latimes.com/politics/la-na-politics-sessions-drugwar-20170511-story.html
  77. Tarwater C. 2016. The mind oppressed: recidivism as a learned behavior. Wake Forest J. Law Policy 6:357–69 [Google Scholar]
  78. Tolson F. 2014. The constitutional structure of voting rights enforcement. Wash. Law Rev. 89:379–438 [Google Scholar]
  79. Uggen C, Larson R, Shannon S. 2016. 6 Million Lost Voters: State-Level Estimates of Felony Disenfranchisement, 2016 Washington, DC: Sentencing Proj http://www.sentencingproject.org/publications/6-million-lost-voters-state-level-estimates-felony-disenfranchisement-2016/
  80. Uggen C, Manza J. 2002. Democratic contraction? Political consequences of felon disenfranchisement in the United States. Am. Sociol. Rev. 67:6777–803 [Google Scholar]
  81. Uggen C, Shannon S. 2012. State-level estimates of felon disenfranchisement in the United States, 2010 Rep., Sentencing Project Washington, DC:
  82. Wilson JK. 2007. Barack Obama: This Improbable Quest Boulder, CO: Paradigm
  83. Woodman S. 2016. Inside a prison where inmates can actually vote for president. Fusion News, May 10 http://fusion.net/story/300578/inside-a-vermont-prison-where-inmates-can-vote-president/ [Google Scholar]
  84. Zaman S. 2015. Violence and exclusion: felon disenfranchisement as a badge of slavery. Columbia Hum. Rights Law Rev. 46:233–77 [Google Scholar]
/content/journals/10.1146/annurev-lawsocsci-110316-113558
Loading
  • Article Type: Review Article

Most Cited Most Cited RSS feed

This is a required field
Please enter a valid email address
Approval was a Success
Invalid data
An Error Occurred
Approval was partially successful, following selected items could not be processed due to error