Felon Disenfranchisement in America

I have recently done some research on felon disenfranchisement and thought I would post some sources of information here for those interested. Felon disenfranchisement is a very interesting topic from a human rights standpoint for multiple reasons. One of the most striking are the examples are of various states taking away the right to vote of ex-felons who have served their entire sentence. Another important factor to look at is race as the following is an excerpt from a paper I wrote about this topic last year:

...in Alabama and Florida, 31 percent of all black men are permanently disenfranchised. In five states (Iowa, Mississippi, New Mexico, Virginia, and Wyoming) one in four black men are permanently disenfranchised. In Delaware and Texas, approximately one in five black men are currently disenfranchised. In 13 other states, between 10 to 18 percent of black men are currently disenfranchised. According to a recent Human Rights Watch report, if current rates of incarceration continue, 28.5 percent of black men will be confined to prison at least once during their lifetime, six times greater than that for white 13 men. If this estimation is correct, the majority of these prisoners will be disenfranchised for part or all of their lives.

The main source that I have looked at on the topic is the homepage of Christopher Uggen a professor at the University of Minnesota. On his website he has information about how each state chooses to disenfranchise felons forever, those who are on probation, parole, etc. Also, you can find information about how the American public feels on the issue. Definitely read his article entitled, "Punishment and Democracy: The Disenfranchisement of Nonincarcerated Felons in the United States" co-written with Jeff Manza. He also has a blog, which can be accessed by clicking here.

Another great source of information comes from the Sentencing Project a non-profit devoted to reducing the incarceration rate in America. Other non-profits and sources on the subject are pasted below:

Prison Policy Initiative

Report by Human Rigths Watch: "Losing the Vote: The Impact of Felony Disenfranchisement Laws in the United States"

Another more recent Human Rights Watch Report

International Center for Prison Studies (King's College London)

BBC News Article on the topic

If anyone has additional information on the topic, please send me an email or post in the comments section. Also, let me know your thoughts on felon disenfranchisement and whether the practice is just or not.

--Tom Hayes