Chart: Why Felon Disenfranchisement Matters

Via Demos’ Sean
McElwee, here’s an interesting look at the extent to which
disenfranchisement of those with felony convictions may influence
election outcomes. In several high-profile and highly-contested
Senate races this election, the margin of victory was much smaller
than the number of felons ineligible to vote:  

Is this to say all those felons would have voted if they were
allowed, or would have voted in a way that changed these races’
outcomes? Of course not. But it does support the idea that
restoring felons’ voting rights could have a
political impact. 

Dara Lind recently took at
look at state differences in disenfranchisement policies. With
the exception of Maine and Vermont, all states prohibit those
currently incarcerated for a felony from voting. The majority
(including Alaska, Georgia, and North Carolina) prohibit those on
parole or probation for a felony crime from voting. And in 12
states (including Florida), those with felony convictions are
stripped of voting rights even after they’ve completed their
sentence, in some cases forever. “As a result, according to the
Sentencing Project, 5.8 million American citizens have lost their
voting rights through the criminal-justice system,” writes Lind.
“And one in every thirteen African-American citizens has lost his
or her right to vote this way.” 

According to the latest
Reason-Rupe poll, nearly three-quarters of Americans favor
restoring voting rights to at least some felons: those convicted of
non-violent drug offences. In June, Sen. Rand Paul introduced
legislation
to restore voting rights to all non-violent
felony offenders. 

It’s a start, at least. I agree
with my colleague Jacob Sullum (and the ACLU) that anyone who
has served their time for the crime they committed should have
their voting rights restored upon release. “It has never made sense
to me,” writes Sullum, ‘that committing a felony should forever
turn someone into a second-class citizen, which contradicts the
goal of reintegrating people into society after they’ve completed
their sentences.” 

More state-by-state info on
felon voting rights here.