Advancement Project

March 16, 2011

What’s in a Vote? : Upholding Citizenship through Re-Enfranchisement

“This plan will eliminate the darkey as a political factor in this State in less than 5 years, so that in no single county . . . will there be the least concern felt for the complete supremacy of the white race in the affairs of government.” Delegate Carter Glass’s comments to the Virginia Constitutional Convention of 1902 were an explicit reference to Virginia lawmakers’ scheme to systematically eradicate Blacks from the state’s electorate. In a pre-civil rights era America, still glaringly torn by the lingering effects of slavery, the strategic disenfranchisement of Blacks wasn’t surprising, particularly in the Deep South (especially in states like Florida, Kentucky, and Alabama). There was a strongly-held belief that persons of African descent were inferior, dependent, and unfit to vote. What may come as a surprise, however, is that the disenfranchisement of Blacks continues as a systematic practice to this day. That there remains a racial tilt to the mistreatment of persons with felony convictions and their voting rights in a theoretically “post-racial” America is troubling.

Today in Virginia, close to 300,000 citizens are barred from voting due to felony convictions. It’s estimated that more than half are Black. Moreover, Blacks represent close to 52% of disenfranchised voters but only make up 20% of the voting age population in Virginia. In Virginia, outdated and discriminatory laws, set into motion in 1902, are largely to blame. Even more harmful has been the perpetual inaction by the current Governor and his predecessors, who legally own the power–via Executive Order–to make automatic restoration of voting rights a reality. Rather than streamline the restoration of voting rights, the state has left persons with felony convictions to wander through a lengthy and burdensome application process that drags on for years and is marred by arbitrary and careless record keeping.

The problem is compounded by inequalities borne into penal and election law systems–both used to socially and politically isolate people of color–and the value we place on certain rights and duties we identify with “citizenship.”

Prison is designed to rehabilitate criminals who eventually re-enter society as responsible and productive citizens. However, as a means of retribution, there is drastic inconsistency. While we don’t require persons with felony convictions to surrender their right to practice the religion of their choosing, to marry, reproduce, or own property, somehow the right to vote is withheld from individuals who have paid their debt. And this accumulation of disenfranchised persons collaterally diminishes the political power of communities of color. When did the belief that we lose our ability to sensibly discern between political candidates once we cross a moral threshold into criminality take root? And when did it become acceptable to ban the only population of “mentally competent” citizens–persons will felony convictions–over the age of 18 from voting? Close to 30% of convicted felons actually never receive jail time, nor are most convicted felons murderers or rapists. So the idea that we are ridding the electorate of criminal deviants is tenuous. Meanwhile, the needs of communities go unheard.

By confining a person’s vote, what we are doing in essence, is removing a person’s identity while raising the likelihood of recidivism. This is due in part to the psychological impact of categorizing a specific segment or class of society as less capable than others to perform basic civic duties. If you’re not fully a citizen, then you become an outcast, politically and socially. What many Americans don’t know is that a felony conviction doesn’t just only mean losing the right to vote. It also means denial of access to public housing, government grants, educational loans or scholarships, and welfare assistance like food stamps. Once you couple all this with difficulty finding employment, re-entering society after a felony conviction is made an almost-impossible task. For many, where else then would they turn but to criminality to survive?

Disenfranchisement is likened to racial hegemony, wherein we pick and choose the extent to which we allow persons with felony convictions to re-insert themselves back into society. We have consented to relegating a growing “caste” of people to second class citizenship, sometimes for life. The surrendering of one’s citizenship at the gates only serves to devalue that individual’s worth. We should have a moral imperative to reverse this. Our obligation is to our fellow citizens, and not the systems in place fashioned to consign them to civil purgatory in the name of perceived justice.

The critical question is: what do we want our democracy to look like? Merriam-Webster online dictionary defines democracy as “a government in which the supreme power is vested in the people and exercised by them directly or indirectly through a system of representation usually involving periodically held free elections.” At the heart of a democracy are its people, and their freedom to exercise power through voting. A government by the people and for the people must be upheld, without the continuation of laws that deprive many of the very rights we pledge to protect.

This process should begin prior to a prisoner’s release, through a state education campaign on the issue, which includes helping them apply to get their voting rights back. It begins by writing commonsense election laws that echo the sacredness of voting, ideally by implementing automatic restoration to persons with felony convictions who have paid their debt to society. It will require a chorus of civil rights, racial justice, faith-based and other pro-restoration groups to speak up for those whose voices and votes continue to be ignored. It will also require telling the stories depicting the lived experiences of affected persons. States have to be accountable for the rights, privileges and standards of citizenship we want for ourselves and families. Until this time, our democracy will never fully reflect the will of the people.