In the United States, some 5.8 million Americans can’t vote because they have a current or previous felony conviction — more than
the individual populations of 31 U.S. states. That figure includes one
in 13 African American adults. In Florida, Kentucky, and Virginia, one
in five African Americans are barred by these felon disenfranchisement
policies, U.S. Attorney General Eric Holder said Tuesday.
Citing these figures and many others, Holder called out state laws
that block ex-felons from voting as a vestige of Reconstruction-era
voter suppression, and called for for states to repeal every law
that prohibits those who have completed their sentence from voting.
Holder’s address Tuesday morning at a criminal justice reform symposium
is the latest in his “Smart on Crime” initiative that has included scaled back prosecution of crimes with mandatory minimum sentences, less targeting of those complying with state marijuana laws, diversion out of prison and improvement of offender re-entry, and a move to cut short the sentences of some drug offenders.
Read on...
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Showing posts with label felony disenfranchisement. Show all posts
Showing posts with label felony disenfranchisement. Show all posts
New Bibliography on Felony Disenfranchisement
In the midst of this election year it is important to remind ourselves that a group of five million Americans will not be on the voter rolls this year. This is not necessarily due to their lack of interest in the election, but because these people have had a felony conviction which disqualifies them from participation.
The Sentencing Project's new publication, Felony Disenfranchisement: An Annotated Bibliography, provides an overview of more than 80 journal articles and books on felony disenfranchisement over the past two decades.
The new publication can be viewed here.
Enfranchising Convicted Felons: Current Research on Opinions Toward Felon Voting Rights
This article is available online to members of the University of Toronto community. A print copy is also available in the Centre of Criminology Library.
Due to their original intent, collateral consequences, such as felon voting restrictions, are still held to be civil in nature, but increasing evidence shows that over time their results have become punitive. Since felon disenfranchisement occurs as a collateral consequence once an individual has been convicted of a felony it arguably qualifies as an issue under the broader subject of punishment. If felony disenfranchisement was legally considered a punishment in 2007, would evolving standards of decency support its continued use? To answer this question this article will explore how punishments philosophies in the U.S. have changed in the last thirty years, then it will examine current opinion research that focuses on the re-enfranchisement or enfranchisement of convicted felons.
Due to their original intent, collateral consequences, such as felon voting restrictions, are still held to be civil in nature, but increasing evidence shows that over time their results have become punitive. Since felon disenfranchisement occurs as a collateral consequence once an individual has been convicted of a felony it arguably qualifies as an issue under the broader subject of punishment. If felony disenfranchisement was legally considered a punishment in 2007, would evolving standards of decency support its continued use? To answer this question this article will explore how punishments philosophies in the U.S. have changed in the last thirty years, then it will examine current opinion research that focuses on the re-enfranchisement or enfranchisement of convicted felons.
Reports Show Widespread Confusion About The Voting Rights Of People With Criminal Records
Misinformation Could Disenfranchise Hundreds Of Thousands Of Eligible Voters
NEW YORK - October 1 - A report released today by the American Civil Liberties Union and the Brennan Center for Justice at New York University School of Law reveals widespread misunderstanding among state elections officials of laws governing the right to vote of citizens with felony convictions.
A second ACLU report, also released today, finds that voter registration forms in states across the country fail to clearly explain the eligibility of voters with criminal records.
Both reports highlight widespread problems that endanger the voting rights of hundreds of thousands of eligible voters nationally in a presidential election year.
Read on...
NEW YORK - October 1 - A report released today by the American Civil Liberties Union and the Brennan Center for Justice at New York University School of Law reveals widespread misunderstanding among state elections officials of laws governing the right to vote of citizens with felony convictions.
A second ACLU report, also released today, finds that voter registration forms in states across the country fail to clearly explain the eligibility of voters with criminal records.
Both reports highlight widespread problems that endanger the voting rights of hundreds of thousands of eligible voters nationally in a presidential election year.
Read on...
Felony Disenfranchisement Laws in The United States
The Sentencing Project
March 2008
Overview of felony disenfranchisement policy and implications, includes state-by-state table illustrating the categories of persons disenfranchised due to a felony conviction.
read on
This issue could have an impact on the upcoming U.S. elections. As it did in 2000 and 2004. Tom
March 2008
Overview of felony disenfranchisement policy and implications, includes state-by-state table illustrating the categories of persons disenfranchised due to a felony conviction.
read on
This issue could have an impact on the upcoming U.S. elections. As it did in 2000 and 2004. Tom
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