Convict or Citizen – Why losing your right to freedom shouldn’t mean losing your right to vote

By Timothy Forrest

Is voting a universal right regardless of a person’s situation? If a person is paying taxes, should they have the right to say how taxes are used? If there is a fundamental right to vote, how can taking that right away be justified? Does true justice mean everyone has a voice in the decisions that affect their lives, or is justice selective? 

When thinking about whether prisoners should be allowed to vote, these are crucial questions. In the United States, most prisoners are ineligible to vote. Under the 14th Amendment, states may restrict voting rights for those involved in “rebellion or crime.” Oftentimes, states enact these restrictions through felon disenfranchisement laws. Because of the wording in the 14th Amendment, nearly all states in America use this clause as a reason to prohibit prisoners’ right to vote in some form or another. For example, in every state, except Maine and Vermont, prisoners lose their right to vote while in prison. Once released, prisoners regain suffrage – whether immediately upon release, completion of probation/parole, or through some other manner varies by state. For some, it seems as though these laws are pretty open and shut. 

However, while it may appear to be a small distinction, it matters that prisoners are allowed to vote while they are incarcerated. Whether convicted prisoners have voting rights is essential to the question of whether they maintain or relinquish their human rights upon incarceration. After all, if a person’s rights can be taken away through incarceration, does that mean their rights as a citizen cease to exist entirely? Are prisoners even citizens? Though it may seem silly to think like this, felon disenfranchisement encourages a plethora of arguments about the rights of the incarcerated. If prisoners can lose their right to vote, they can also lose their freedom of speech, right to due process, freedom of religion, and many other rights. If prisoners are considered citizens of the United States, they must retain their right to vote, whether they are in prison or not. Furthermore, to uphold the principles on which this country was founded, to correct systemic inequality, and to change the focus from the punishment of prisoners to their rehabilitation and integration, the United States must allow prisoners to vote while they are incarcerated.

To begin with, prisoners should be allowed to vote because the US is a democracy. In a democracy, all citizens, regardless of status, race, sex, religion or any other factor, have the right and opportunity to participate, and the government gets its validity from the consent of the governed. Activist Joel Castón, who was formerly incarcerated, said that, “Anytime a member of a society is not afforded the right to express his or her opinions by way of the democratic process, we cannot achieve the ideals of democracy.” This is just one reason why everyone who is governed must get the opportunity to vote. If anyone is excluded, even those who are incarcerated, the foundational idea of democracy is contradicted by removing their ability to influence the laws that affect them. In addition, approximately 4 million former prisoners and 11.7 million former felons live in our communities, typically serving their felony probation or parole sentences. These individuals are hardworking, nurturing their families and paying taxes, but still have no say in the laws and policies affecting their daily lives. This restriction could even sway elections. For example, the 2000 presidential election was decided in the state of Florida by 537 votes. At the time of the election, Florida had one of the harshest policies on disenfranchisement, with an estimated 600,000 ex-felons ineligible to vote. Had prisoners been able to vote, the election might have yielded a more decisive result, or even affected the outcome. If prisoners are going to live in society (no matter in what form that may be), they must have the right to vote.

Giving criminals the right to vote could actually benefit society. A prisoner rarely improves their situation while in prison, with at least 1 in 4 prisoners returning to jail within a year. The goal of the criminal justice system should be rehabilitation rather than never-ending punishment, but this is not happening. Allowing prisoners to vote would create a sense of civic duty and engagement and benefit their reintegration into society upon release. According to a study done by Christopher Uggen and Jeff Manza in 2004, individuals with a history of criminal offenses who participated in elections were significantly less likely to be re-arrested compared to those who did not vote. This isn’t to say that voting solely influences law-abiding behavior in individuals, but it certainly encourages one to look beyond their own self-interest and toward the greater good of their community. Additionally, granting inmates voting rights could decrease crime rates across the country. Maine and Vermont, the only two states that allow prisoners to vote while in prison, are top-10 in lowest crime rates in the United States – and that’s no coincidence. Finally, research from anti-prison organizations like The Sentencing Project indicates that restoring voting rights to individuals with felony convictions can enhance public safety. Their report highlights that civic engagement, including voting, is associated with reduced recidivism rates. This data suggests that giving prisoners the right to vote has positive effects, revealing it as a viable solution that could be used to help lower crime across the country. 

What’s more, felony disenfranchisement is not just about individual punishment – it’s about suppressing entire communities. It is well known that prisons do not accurately reflect the population represented in America. Despite making up only 14% of the population, African Americans account for 41% of the prison population. Meanwhile, while white people make up 57% of the U.S. population, there are only about 36% of them in jails and prisons. Of course, a big part of this is due to the racial bias that is prevalent in sentencing. It was found that, even after accounting for factors such as age, citizenship, education, weapon possession and prior criminal history, African American males receive a sentence that is almost 20% longer than those of white male offenders. Consider policies such as the Anti Drug Use Act of 1986, which created a significant disparity in sentencing and heavily impacted minority communities. Take for example Stop-and-Frisk laws (used to search for guns), which resulted in the stopping of 685,724 people by the NYPD in 2011.  87% of stop-and-frisk victims were Black and Latino, even though white individuals are more likely to carry weapons, a weapon was only found a measly 1.9% of the time. Then there is the 1994 Crime Bill, which gave life sentences to those convicted of 3 felonies and disproportionately affected African American and Hispanic men. Pair all of these policies together with the studies and data, and a trail of discrimination is revealed, leaving nothing but systemic inequality in its wake. Add this to the fact that several states either don’t restore a prisoner’s right to vote once convicted or require a pardon from their government to gain it back, and it becomes clear that all voter disenfranchisement does is hurt minority communities. Felony disenfranchisement creates a vicious cycle where victims of mass incarceration remain powerless to change the laws that govern them, and this needs to be resolved.

Finally, eliminating felony disenfranchisement is a feasible and realistic goal that could, with a little bit of effort, be easily implemented across the country. After all, Maine and Vermont have already demonstrated success in doing this; both states allow prisoners to register to vote at their pre-incarceration address and request absentee ballots by mail, even bringing in people who educate and assist prisoners with the process. One former inmate who was arrested for drug trafficking and bank robbery, Jeremy MacKenzie, voted in several elections in Vermont while behind bars. Jeremy said casting a ballot may seem like a small thing, but it played a big part in helping him feel like he was still a part of the outside world: “You've got a lot of people disconnected from their community, and any way they can participate in the process of their community, especially in a positive way, is important.” In addition, many countries, such as Canada, South Africa, Norway, Sweden, and Denmark have already ruled it unconstitutional to take away the right to vote from their citizens and grant their inmates the right to vote. The U.S. is behind, and a change to the way this country operates is crucial. For the U.S. to maintain its image as a beacon of democracy, it has to follow the example of other democratic nations and ensure that all citizens, regardless of incarceration status, retain their right to vote.

Representative John Conyers Jr., a prominent member of Congress, once said “If we want former felons to become good citizens, we must give those rights as well as responsibilities, and there is no greater responsibility than voting” And he is right. If the purpose of prison is truly to prepare inmates for their eventual reintegration into society, then why not allow them to vote? There are endless benefits to allowing felons to exercise their right to vote, and little to no consequences. Voters cannot be citizens unless they have the same rights as everyone else in America. So let’s give prisoners a way to feel connected to society. Let’s end the systemic inequality that felon disenfranchisement only fuels. Let’s follow the footsteps of other countries and be the democracy that we claim we are. Let’s give prisoners the right to vote.