SUBSCRIBE TO OUR FREE NEWSLETTER
Daily news & progressive opinion—funded by the people, not the corporations—delivered straight to your inbox.
5
#000000
#FFFFFF
5
#000000
#FFFFFF
sentencing project
Mass Disenfranchisement for Felony Convictions Makes US an 'Outlier Nation'
"The right to vote, and the legitimacy of the democratic system in the United States, should not depend on its criminal legal system, which is built upon and perpetuates discrimination," said an advocate with Human Rights Watch.
Jun 27, 2024
The common U.S. practice of stripping the franchise from people with criminal convictions leaves the country "out of step with the rest of the world," according to a report published Thursday by the Sentencing Project, Human Rights Watch, and the ACLU.
Despite recent progress in some states, the groups estimated that more than 4.4 million U.S. residents were disenfranchised because of a felony conviction as of 2022, and "thousands more eligible voters were unable to cast their ballot because they were in prison."
"The states with the most restrictive disenfranchisement laws are those with the highest percentages of Black and Latinx people," the new report notes. "Eleven U.S. states permanently disenfranchise at least some people with felony convictions for the rest of their lives. Fourteen U.S. states disenfranchise people both for the duration of their prison sentence and, upon their return to the community, during the time they are under parole or felony probation supervision. An additional state, Louisiana, restores voting rights to people on felony probation and parole once they have been out of prison for five years or more."
"Twenty-three states restore voting rights to people when they return to the community from prison," the report adds, "although at least four states that otherwise restore voting rights after a felony conviction permanently disenfranchise residents for certain election practices."
The 55-page analysis places U.S. disenfranchisement laws alongside the practices of 136 other countries with populations over 1.5 million people and concludes that the U.S.—with its "punitive criminal legal system" and high incarceration rates—is an "outlier nation."
"Wide access to voting is a cornerstone of rights-respecting, democratic government."
More than half of the countries examined in the report "never or rarely deny a person's right to vote because of a conviction." When placed among the remaining countries "where laws deny the right in broader sets of circumstances," the report states, "the U.S. is toward the restrictive end of the spectrum and disenfranchises, largely through U.S. state law, a wider swath of people on the whole."
"In five countries—the Republic of the Congo, Côte d’Ivoire, Madagascar, Morocco, and Togo—people whose convictions fall in certain categories are disenfranchised permanently," the report observes. "These five countries are in the same category with the 11 U.S. states that permanently disenfranchise at least some people convicted of felonies."
Alison Leal Parker, deputy U.S. director at Human Rights Watch, said in a statement that "wide access to voting is a cornerstone of rights-respecting, democratic government, which is why the right to vote is protected in international human rights law and why the U.S. should reform its outlier status on voting rights."
"The right to vote, and the legitimacy of the democratic system in the United States, should not depend on its criminal legal system, which is built upon and perpetuates discrimination," said Parker.
While a number of states have moved in recent years to loosen voting restrictions for people with felony convictions and restore the franchise at the time of a person's release from incarceration, just four U.S. jurisdictions—Vermont, Maine, Puerto Rico, and Washington, D.C.—allow people to vote while they are imprisoned.
Late last year, Rep. Ayanna Pressley (D-Mass.) and Sen. Peter Welch (D-Vt.) introduced legislation that would guarantee voting rights to incarcerated citizens and end felony disenfranchisement in federal elections. The bill has just five cosponsors in the Senate and 25 in the House, even though polling data has shown a majority of Americans support guaranteeing voting rights to all, including incarcerated people.
The new report calls on the United States to "end felony disenfranchisement and extend voting rights to all otherwise voting-eligible persons without regard to their criminal legal system contact or convictions." It also recommends that the country eliminate all requirements that citizens pay court-related fines before being allowed to vote again—a practice the report calls a "modern-day poll tax."
"In the United States, this policy is rooted in historical practices intended to reduce electoral participation of citizens of color who would otherwise be eligible to vote," the human rights groups wrote.
Jonathan Topaz, a staff attorney with the ACLU's Voting Rights Project, said Thursday that "even as we've seen more U.S. states make progress in expanding rights restoration, there remain substantial challenges to voter access."
"Convoluted rights restoration laws have resulted in voter confusion about eligibility among returning citizens," said Topaz "Additionally, in many states, returning citizens become eligible to vote only upon payment of various legal financial obligations such as fees, costs, fines, and/or restitution, which essentially institutes a pay-to-vote system. These obstacles must be abolished to ensure full civic participation."
Keep ReadingShow Less
Dems Unveil Bill to Guarantee Incarcerated Citizens Right to Vote
"This bill champions inclusion and representation, which are vital for community reintegration and public safety," said one supporter.
Dec 06, 2023
Members of the National Voting in Prison Coalition and other advocacy groups on Wednesday welcomed the introduction of Democratic legislation that would end felony disenfranchisement in federal elections and guarantee incarcerated U.S. citizens the right to vote.
"Too often, citizens behind the wall and those with a record are wrongfully stripped of their sacred right to vote and denied the opportunity to participate in our democracy," said U.S. Rep. Ayanna Pressley (D-Mass.), who is leading the bill with Sen. Peter Welch (D-Vt.).
Pressley stressed that "with Republicans and the Supreme Court stopping at nothing to undermine voting rights and exclude Black and brown folks from participating in our democracy, we must protect and expand access to the ballot box—including for incarcerated citizens."
"As someone whose family has been personally impacted by mass incarceration, I'm proud to partner with Sen. Welch on the Inclusive Democracy Act to ensure everyone can make their voice heard in our democracy," she added. "Momentum is growing in states across the country and Congress must follow suit by swiftly passing this crucial legislation."
The National Voting in Prison Coalition—made up of over two dozen groups including the Campaign Legal Center, Center for Popular Democracy, Common Cause, Dēmos, Stand Up America, and the Sentencing Project—said that "the Inclusive Democracy Act stands as a beacon of hope for the more than 4.6 million Americans currently disenfranchised due to criminal convictions."
"The Inclusive Democracy Act of 2023 is a long-overdue step towards fulfilling the promise of our democracy, where every American has a voice and a stake in shaping our nation's future," the coalition continued.
Some coalition members also put out their own statements of support. Common Cause's Keshia Morris Desir said that "the Inclusive Democracy Act takes significant steps to help end the racist and discriminatory practice of felony disenfranchisement that grips communities of color."
Stand Up America's Sunwoo Oh called felony disenfranchisement "a stain on American democracy" and pledged that the group's nearly 2 million members "are ready to do whatever we can to push this legislation forward at the federal level."
Nicole D. Porter of the Sentencing Project noted that "not only is expanding voting rights the morally correct thing to do—it is also effective policy: For people who have been impacted by the criminal legal system, restoring voting rights has been linked to reduced recidivism, as it helps them rehabilitate and reintegrate into civic life."
According to its sponsors, the bill would:
- Guarantee the right to vote in federal elections for citizens who have criminal convictions;
- Require state and federal entities to notify individuals who are convicted, incarcerated, on probation, or on parole of their right to vote in federal elections;
- Outline the process for citizens in carceral settings to register to vote by mail, if registration is required by their state;
- Outline the process for citizens in carceral settings to vote by mail, including protecting and prioritizing election mail, curing ballots with mistakes, and casting a provision ballot;
- Ensure citizens in carceral settings have access to information about elections through mechanisms available to them such as the internet, campaigns, and third-party groups;
- Provide guidance to state officials to not prosecute citizens in carceral settings who complete an election ballot that includes an election they are not eligible to vote in; and
- Provide a private right of action to enforce this legislation.
"This bill champions inclusion and representation, which are vital for community reintegration and public safety," said David Ayala of the Formerly Incarcerated Convicted People & Families Movement. "It ensures that the voices of those directly impacted by the criminal legal system shape federal policies, addressing reentry challenges effectively."
Jeremiah Mungo of More Than Our Crimes declared that "every American deserves a voice in their homeland."
The new bill is backed by 17 other House Democrats as well as Sens. Ed Markey (D-Mass.) and Bernie Sanders (I-Vt.) but is unlikely to pass the GOP-controlled lower chamber or split Senate. Despite the odds, lawmakers have also unveiled other voting rights measures throughout the year, including the Freedom to Vote Act and the John R. Lewis Voting Rights Advancement Act.
Keep ReadingShow Less
Biden Rejection of DC's Criminal Code Reforms Reminds Us of His Past Contributions to Mass Incarceration
Biden should have risen above the fray and promised to veto right-wing efforts to . Instead, he did the opposite—abandoning the people of DC and his own campaign promises to oppose mandatory minimum sentences and significantly reduce the prison population.
Mar 11, 2023
When President Biden announced he would not veto Congress' override of Washington, DC's Revised Criminal Code Act (RCCA), he chose politics over public safety and DC's right to self-governance.
The RCCA is a 200+ page comprehensive modernization of DC's criminal code and the thoughtful product of 16 years of research, an expert commission, 51 public meetings, extensive public feedback, and robust negotiation.
It's a balanced bill: raising some penalties, lowering others, and correcting many legal flaws in a criminal code once ranked one of the worst in the country. That's why it was supported by prosecutors, victim advocates, public defenders, advocates, and 83% of District voters.
But opponents of criminal justice reform and home rule in Congress spread deliberate misinformation—for instance, in the words of Speaker McCarthy, that a bill that imposes a 24-year maximum sentence for carjacking somehow "decriminalizes" it—to politicize and block its passage.
President Biden should have risen above the fray and promised to veto those efforts. Instead, he did the opposite—abandoning the people of DC and his own campaign promises to oppose mandatory minimum sentences and significantly reduce the prison population.
As we mark 50 years since the onset of mass incarceration, it's time for President Biden to consider his legacy. Does he want to be remembered as someone who helped create mass incarceration or someone who helped end it?
Similar to the mistakes he made with the 1994 Crime Bill, President Biden's objections to the RCCA aren't rooted in serious discussion about sentencing policy.
During his campaign for president, he was criticized for his contributions to an American criminal justice system that prioritized prison construction and long sentences at the expense of community-based interventions that can reduce crime, like broadly accessible mental health services, drug treatment, and support for vulnerable children.
President Biden says he regrets sponsoring passage of the 1994 Crime Bill, which significantly contributed to America's explosive incarceration rate. His pledge to change his ways was applauded, but since taking office Biden has not kept his promises.
Under President Biden's watch, for the last two years, the federal prison population has begun to increase after impressive declines stemming from reforms enacted by his Democratic and Republican predecessors.
The District's new criminal code would have made DC a national leader in sentencing best practices and would have been a significant step toward racial equity by eliminating almost all mandatory minimums and providing proportionality in sentencing options.
The RCCA reflected what decades of research has shown: extreme sentences do not deter crime. They don't make us any safer, they are a massive waste of fiscal resources, and they disproportionately impact communities of color.
The RCCA didn't scale back excessive sentences to the extent that evidence would support, but it takes a step in the right direction.
We need common sense approaches that promote racial justice and prevent crime by investing in healthy, thriving communities instead of prisons and jails.
Similar to the mistakes he made with the 1994 Crime Bill, President Biden's objections to the RCCA aren't rooted in serious discussion about sentencing policy. Criminologists have long held that the severity of a punishment for any given offense, often unknown to people committing crime, is a weak deterrent of criminal behavior.
Rather, increasing the likelihood of being caught is more influential on decisions about criminal behavior.
President Biden's refusal to support DC's important update of its criminal laws ignores the overwhelming evidence that putting more and more people in prison for longer and longer periods does not make us safer. We've done that for decades and it doesn't work.
Instead, we need common sense approaches that promote racial justice and prevent crime by investing in healthy, thriving communities instead of prisons and jails. The people of DC overwhelmingly recognize that fact and that's why they support an updated criminal code based on what we know about public safety in the 21st century—not the outdated theories of a century ago.
As DC leaders revisit the RCCA, I urge President Biden to revisit the consequences of the 1994 Crime Bill and consider whether he wants the continuation of America's mass incarceration crisis to be a part of his legacy.
Keep ReadingShow Less
Most Popular