More than six million Americans of voting age – that is one out of every 40 people of voting age in the country will be ineligible to vote in the upcoming elections. They are people who have been convicted of a felony, a crime typically punishable by more than a year in prison, and who, as a result, have had their voting rights taken away from them.
“I feel like my voice doesn’t matter, that I’m a second class citizen. I’ve payed a lot of taxes over the last decade but yet I can’t put a little ‘X’ in a box on a ballot because I once was convicted of a felony.”
Anonymous, Kentucky
Completed sentence eight years ago.
What is disenfranchisement
If you are convicted of a felony in the United States, chances are you will lose the right to vote.
As the US has the largest prison population per capita in the world, this is thought to affect somewhere in the region of six million Americans.
These people are disenfranchised – barred from participating in the democracy that imprisoned them.
Each of the country’s 50 states make their own laws regarding the voting rights of felons and former felons.
“Being branded as a convicted felon has disconnected me from some important things like voting. Because I am a convicted felon, I have been left out to dry, and I’m not the only one.”
Mantell Stevens, 36, Kentucky
Convicted of drug possession in 2000. Spent 30 days in jail and three years on probation.
How many Americans are disenfranchised?
Roughly six million Americans of voting age. That is one out of every 40.
With 1.5 million people who are ineligible to vote, the state of Florida is home to around quarter of the country’s disenfranchised.
“If we can’t vote, we can’t vote to change things, which means we are just gonna be silenced for the rest of our lives. There’s no major political voice in my state, Kentucky, that has taken this up to do it. I’m just disheartened.”
Anonymous, Kentucky
Completed sentence eight years ago
The are other states that also stand out: Kentucky, Mississippi, Tennessee, Virginia and Alabama. In all six, including Florida, more than seven percent of the voting age population is unable to vote.
That percentage is even higher for African Americans.
Different state, different law
It is the Fourteenth Amendment of the United States Constitution that is responsible for the large differences in the number of disenfranchised people in each state.
This amendment allows each state to make its own laws regarding the voting rights of convicted felons.
“I like to call myself a legal alien. I’m legally allowed to be here but I’m alienated because I’m set apart from everybody.”
Mantell Stevens, 36, Kentucky
Convicted of drug possession in 2000. Spent 30 days in jail and three years on probation.
Only two states allow all convicted felons to vote, including those who are currently imprisoned: Maine and Vermont. Fourteen states allow those who are on probation and parole to vote, but not those who are in jail or prison. Most allow former felons to participate in the democratic process once they have served their sentence.
But there are 12 states that effectively ban convicted felons from voting for life – even once they have served their sentence and been released. Although there are ways for ex-felons to be pardoned and allowed back into the democratic process, in reality this hardly ever happens.
“I pay taxes, I’m held accountable when I commit a crime, so why can’t I vote. I should have all the rights as any other person has.”
Mantell Stevens, 36, Kentucky
Convicted of drug possession in 2000. Spent 30 days in jail and three years on probation.
In total, over half of all the disenfranchised are people who have completed their sentence. However, even after their time in prison and finishing their parole and probation they are still not allowed to vote.
How many Americans are disenfranchised?
Roughly six million Americans of voting age. That is one out of every 40.
With 1.5 million people who are ineligible to vote, the state of Florida is home to around quarter of the country’s disenfranchised.
“When I go to renew my license, when I go to the county clerk. They always ask ‘would you like to register to vote’. It’s embarrasing to say no, because a lot of people think ‘why would you say’. Its embarrassing to answer to that in public. It sounds like I don’t care about voting. I feel like the bottom of the barrel.”
Mantell Stevens, 36, Kentucky
Convicted of drug possession in 2000. Spent 30 days in jail and three years on probation.
The are other states that also stand out: Kentucky, Mississippi, Tennessee, Virginia and Alabama. In all six, including Florida, more than seven percent of the voting age population is unable to vote.
That percentage is even higher for African Americans.
Different state, different law
It is the Fourteenth Amendment of the United States Constitution that is responsible for the large differences in the number of disenfranchised people in each state.
This amendment allows each state to make its own laws regarding the voting rights of convicted felons.
“I like to call myself a legal alien. I’m legally allowed to be here but I’m alienated because I’m set apart from everybody.”
Mantell Stevens, 36, Kentucky
Convicted of drug possession in 2000. Spent 30 days in jail and three years on probation.
Only two states allow all convicted felons to vote, including those who are currently imprisoned: Maine and Vermont. Fourteen states allow those who are on probation and parole to vote, but not those who are in jail or prison. Most allow former felons to participate in the democratic process once they have served their sentence.
But there are 12 states that effectively ban convicted felons from voting for life – even once they have served their sentence and been released. Although there are ways for ex-felons to be pardoned and allowed back into the democratic process, in reality this hardly ever happens.
“Problems like this in 2016 are very difficult to address because the problems in each community and in each city are very different. Not only that, but the people who are targeted the most often don’t have the platform to make the world know how they really feel.”
Shaun King, civil rights activist
In total, over half of all the disenfranchised are people who have completed their sentence. However, even after their time in prison and finishing their parole and probation they are still not allowed to vote.
Does race play a role?
Yes.
While one out of every 40 Americans cannot vote because they have been convicted of a felony, this goes up to one out of every 13 when just the African American population is considered.
For white Americans, it is one in 25.
“Institutional racism is enormous in the United States. After our Civil War in the 1860s, the white power structure began searching for new ways to disenfranchise black voters and that process of targeting Black voters has never stopped in the past 150 years. It has shifted and taken on new forms, but every person in this country does not have equal access to voting. It’s disgusting.”
Shaun King, civil rights activist
For some states, this rate is even higher. In four states black voter disenfranchisement is higher than Twetny percent, meaning one in every five African American is not allowed to vote because they once were convicted of a felony crime.
“For ex-felons, a big problem is that they face a lot of other issues that take precedence over changing voting rights. They’re more concerned with where their next meal is gonna come from than their concern about whether they’re able to vote.”
Mantell Stevens, 36, Kentucky
Convicted of drug possession in 2000. Spent 30 days in jail and three years on probation.
What is the difference between sentence and post-sentence?
In all but two states (Maine and Vermont), people who are currently serving a sentence are not allowed to vote. Most states allow ex-felons back into the democratic process after serving either parole or probation.
“A friend of mine, her dad is in his sixties. He got a felony when he was in his twenties, hasn’t been in trouble again, he owns several businesses and he hasn’t been able to vote for what’s best for him, his family and his business.”
Mantell Stevens, 36, Kentucky
Convicted of drug possession in 2000. Spent 30 days in jail and three years on probation.
Some states, however, will not give ex-felons their voting rights after serving their full sentence. For a state like Florida, for example, this means that 1.5 million people who have fully served their sentence, cannot vote again.
How did the number of disenfranchised get so high?
The US has about five percent of the global population. But it has 25 percent of the global prison population, as data from the International Centre for Prison Studies shows.
“I was convicted of a felony over fifteen years ago and I’ve been living with that label for two decades now. Because I am a convicted felon, I have been left out to dry, and I’m not the only one.”
Mantell Stevens, 36, Kentucky
Convicted of drug possession in 2000. Spent 30 days in jail and three years on probation.
Since the 1980s, the number of inmates in the US has risen dramatically, from about 350,000 in 1980 to a peak of more than 1.5 million in 2008.
It has also been attributed to the high number of private prisons – or what has become known as the ‘Prison-Industrial Complex’. Between 1999 and 2010, the use of private prisons in the US increased by 40 percent at the state level and 784 percent in the federal prison system.
And as the number of prisoners has increased, so too has the number of Americans who are unable to vote in their country’s elections.
Where do the presidential candidates stand on this?
Even though a large number of people cannot vote because of disenfranchisement laws, the issue hasn’t seen much attention during the presidential campaign, mainly because this is an issue that is decided on a state by state basis.
Hillary Clinton, however, has stated she is in favour of reforms that would allow more Americans convicted of a felony to vote.
Donald Trump, on the other hand, has spoken out against reforms in Virginia, telling a campaign rally in Rhode Island: “They’re giving 200,000 people that have been convicted of heinous crimes, horrible crimes, the worst crimes, the right to vote. Because you know what? They know they’re going to vote Democrat.”
“I believe there is a benefit to disenfranchising certain groups of people. When you take the power of voting away from a quarter of a million people in Kentucky alone, that’s a lot of votes. It’s a way to keep control.”
Mantell Stevens, 36, Kentucky
Convicted of drug possession in 2000. Spent 30 days in jail and three years on probation.