A recent article, “Who Gets to Vote?” appeared in The New York Times, and addresses the pervasive practice of states denying Americans with criminal records the right to vote. The article noted that during the next Presidential election in November 2012, more than 5 million Americans with past criminal convictions will not have the right to vote.
The problem is that this denial remains in effect for decades or a lifetime. This article duly notes that the implications for this practice creates a more devastating effect on the political power and influence of black communities all across the nation.
The article states, “Nationwide, 13 percent of black men have lost the right to vote, a rate that is seven times the national average.” The article adds, “But the ripple effects of large-scale incarceration extend well beyond the individuals who are imprisoned, and as a result minority communities throughout the country have lost political influence.”
The negative impact is obvious, “It’s a simple equation: Communities with high incarceration rates have fewer votes to cast. The whole community suffers the result.”
But this practice has an ugly history with direct ties to race, racism and race relations, and the seemingly unshakeable influence these negative forces have played and continue to play on the American political stage. The laws were purposefully adopted to counter the 13th, 14th, and 15th Constitutional Amendments, which ended slavery, provided equal citizenship to freed slaves, and prohibited racial discrimination in voting.
To make sure that the waterfront was covered, these laws, adopted following the Civil War and during the Reconstruction era in conjunction with laws that required literacy tests and poll taxes as barriers for blacks to cast a vote. As if this wasn’t enough insurance, the criminal disenfranchisement laws targeted those crimes for which blacks were more likely to be convicted such as theft, perjury, forgery — furtive offense compared to the crimes committed by whites.
You might guess that southern states adopted criminal disenfranchisement laws more than northern states, but in those days, some northern states joined the chorus, New York among them.
Fast forward to today.
Of the 50 states, only 23 states have restored voting rights or eased the process to reclaim those rights if you have a criminal conviction. But we must note that even today, some of the major states that impact the outcome of a national election, have not only maintained these laws, but have gone so far as to roll back any reforms, the states of Florida and Iowa among them.
The other dynamic occurring today is the movement by many states that require a particular type of ID from those wishing to vote. It is known that the type of state required ID will less likely be one that minorities, blacks, have in their possession.
What a catch-22. What a vicious cycle.
And if that is not enough, the very states that enforce the criminal disenfranchisement law which prevents anyone with a criminal record from voting (mostly black men), also count the prison population (again, mostly black men) to get their fair share of federal dollars for roads, bridges, Medicaid, and other dollars (entitlements and otherwise) every year.
What a deal! It is called “Getting them going and coming.”
Voting. The very essence of this Republic. The path to individual empowerment in the political process, and shaping public policy is the foundation of becoming a productive member of society. Why the persistent effort to suppress?
There continues to be efforts at the state and national level to restore the right to vote in federal elections to all American who have served and satisfied their prison sentence and who are trying to lead productive lives.
As a society, if we are about restoration, and giving second chances to those who may have lost their way — many of whom may have been wrongfully imprisoned in the first place, should we continue to deny the basic sense of dignity and civic involvement?
What do you think?
Comments
Right to Vote
In order to shape public policy one must have the right to vote. Also, voting should be a fundamental right that every citizen should have. I do not think that those with a criminal background should be suppressed from voting. It is a clear catch-22. I think that in order to make changes regarding those who have criminal records and voting we must educate people about the injustice surrounding criminals and voting. As a society, we must find ways to bring awareness to this injustice.
Voting rights
I think those who have paid their dues, and are being productive citizens of society should be able to vote. Reading this I am reminded of the rights to vote for women and the hardships they went through just to have the same basic rights as men. There are those who have made mistakes, and have paid for them. They should have the right to vote, and have a say in the future of our country.
Call me ignorant, but I was
Call me ignorant, but I was completely unaware of this practice. This seems very unjust as we pride ourselves on the fact that EVERYONE can vote. There is an disproportionate number of minorities who are convicted of crimes (as the article stated, sometimes quite wrongfully, as well), thus resulting in a disproportionate number of eligible minority voters. I think that those who have been convicted of a crime, paid the time, and are on a road to recovery from their crime and attempting to lead a productive life has just as much right to vote as any one else. In fact, they may even be able to provide more insight with the flaws of the judicial system. The fact that so many people -- specifically minorities -- lose out on the chance to vote, is staggering. And we wonder why people have lost faith in our government.
The consequences of these
The consequences of these many racial topics sometimes outweigh the pros and I believe that this is a major problem in our world today.
Justice in the American Legal System
In the question raised at the end of the article I saw a second question within the question. The question begins, "As a society, if we are about restoration..." Here I think it is important to ask ourselves if we are in fact a society that is about restoration. In principal many people seem to be but when it comes down to personal gains versus societal losses it seems many individuals care very little about restoration of cities, communities, and even people who they do not interact with on a daily basis. There is definitely some evidence out there that shows we as a society do not hold restoration as one of our top priorities. This makes me wonder if we actually are about restoration? Whether we are or are not it seems we can agree on some shared societal values. Many Americans believes the U.S. represents freedom, justice, and the american dream. If we are targeting certain minority groups for criminal activity the the entire county takes place in, how can we say we represent any of those things? In the recent change regarding the legal punishment for possession of crack versus cocaine we see very blatantly that the law of this nation has arbitrarily used its power to take down minority communities in order to benefit the wealthy and maintain white dominance in society. On the surface this article asks us examine whether or not we think prisoners should retain their right to vote, but on a deeper level I think it asks to us reexamine the role of the American legal system in protecting the basic rights of ALL its citizens.
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