Restoring voting rights to ex-inmates part of democracy

When California voters approved Proposition 17 earlier this month — restoring voting rights to people convicted of felonies, after completing their prison sentences — it was a win for voting rights advocates and part of a larger, national trend.

Only two states (Maine and Vermont) and the District of Columbia never removed the right to vote from those serving prison sentences. The remaining 48 states either require a completion of prison sentences, parole, probation; paying fines, fees, and restitution; or a combination of these in order to restore voting rights.

“Nothing speaks more to citizenship than being able to vote,” Desmond Meade, founder of the Florida Rights Restoration Coalition, an organization that works to end disenfranchisement and discrimination against people with convictions, told NBC News. “So, when you talk about citizenship, even though someone makes a mistake, they should not stop being an American citizen.”

Stripping voting rights from people who’ve been incarcerated is rooted in a history of racism and classism, while also insisting that

American citizens lose their voice in the political process that would’ve been heard through their votes.

Blair Bowie is legal counsel and manager of the Restore Your Vote project for the Campaign Legal Center, an organization working to make the political process accessible to every citizen through litigation, policy advocacy and partnerships with other organizations. The Restore Your Vote project fights felony disenfranchisement by individually helping people with past convictions restore their voting rights. She took some time to discuss the history and impact of disenfranchisement, and why advocates see restoring voting rights as an essential part of American democracy. (This email interview has been edited for length and clarity. )

Q: According to the National Council of State Legislatures, California joins a national trend of states that are restoring voting rights to citizens who were formerly incarcerated, with the passage of Proposition 17. Can you talk a bit about the history of voter disenfranchisement in the U.S.? What were these laws — stripping people convicted of felonies from voting — motivated by, and what was the purpose of doing this, initially?

A: Felony disenfranchisement laws proliferated in the United States after the Civil War as a way for former Confederate states to circumvent the Reconstruction amendments and stamp out Black political power. Over the following decades, the laws spread across the country and continued to be viewed as effective tools for suppressing minority power, particularly when coupled with the explosive growth of the criminal legal system. Today, 48 states take away the right to vote from at least some citizens convicted of felonies. The United States is the only democracy where some citizens lose the right to vote permanently.

Q: Over the years, what has been the result of these voter disenfranchisement laws?

A: These racist policies have unfortunately accomplished what they set out to: nationwide, one in every 13 Black adults cannot vote because of a felony conviction. Compared to non-black populations, where one in 56 voters are disenfranchised by these laws, the disparate racial impact is clear.

This is incredibly harmful to our democracy. Felony disenfranchisement not only means that people with past convictions, as a class, are inadequately represented by the political process, but also that the political power of certain racial and economic groups is diluted due to the number of members who cannot vote. In other words, disenfranchisement not only impacts the citizens with past convictions themselves, but also disempowers the groups to which they belong.

Q: There are states, like Maine and Vermont, that allow people in prison to vote. There are also reports that restored voting rights have been linked to reduced recidivism. What kind of difference does it make to allow people to keep their voting rights, regardless of whether they’re currently, or were formerly, in prison? What do we know about how restoring voting rights impacts the communities, and the political process, formerly incarcerated people rejoin?

A: Studies have shown that civic participation has been linked with lower recidivism rates. A 2004 study showed that, among individuals who had been previously arrested, 27 percent of nonvoters were rearrested, compared with 12 percent of voters.

Denying citizens with past felony convictions the right to engage in civic activities, such as voting, hinders their reintegration into society and provides an additional psychological impediment to preventing recidivism. This is because self-perception is an important part of the reintegration process: people who avoid re-committing crimes do so because they’re able to see themselves as a law-abiding member of their community. Restoring voting rights may play an important role in allowing citizens with past felony convictions to see themselves as productive and valued citizens in a community, rather than “criminals.”

“Today, 48 states take away the right to vote from at least some citizens convicted of felonies.” Blair Bowie • Campaign Legal Center