Summary of the Problem:  Although the right to vote forms the core of American democracy, one significant group of American citizens is still denied the right to the franchise: 5.3 million Americans are not allowed to vote because of a felony conviction. Four million of these people live, work, and raise families in our communities, but because of a conviction in their past they are still denied the right to vote. These laws serve no legitimate purpose, and in fact are deeply rooted in the Jim Crow era when they were designed to lock freed slaves out of the voting process. The disproportionate impact on people of color continues to this day. Nationwide, 13 percent of African-American men have lost the right to vote, a rate that is seven times the national average.

            Since 2003, the Brennan Center and the ACLU, working with state allies, have conducted 25 surveys in 21 states documenting the failure of local election officials to comply with existing state restoration laws. These surveys present overwhelming evidence that election officials are confused and misinformed about existing eligibility rules and registration procedures. The findings range from misrepresenting the law to imposing illegal registration and documentation requirements on eligible voters. These surveys reveal that untold hundreds of thousands of eligible voters are de facto disenfranchised because of elections officials' failure to comply with current law.

            The solution to this widespread disenfranchisement of American citizens is to automatically restore the right to vote upon release from prison. Under this system, citizens would be immediately eligible to vote while on probation and parole. In addition, these voting rights would not be contingent upon submission of special paperwork, or the payment of fees, fines, or restitution. Other remedies include giving notice to persons leaving prison that they will be eligible to vote upon release; making departments of correction, probation and parole responsible for voter registration; synchronizing state voter rolls to ensure accuracy; and educating eligible voters about their rights.

Proposed Solutions:

            Executive:  Appoint a commission to document the de facto disenfranchisement of eligible voters with felony convictions in each of the 50 states.

            Legislative Changes:  Pass the Democracy Restoration Act  

• H.R. 7136 and S. 3640 from the 110^th Congress

 Jurisdiction:

             Executive Branch: Department of Justice and the U.S. Election Assistance Commission  

            Legislative Branch:  Senate and House Judiciary Committees, Senate Finance Committee, and the House Ways and Means Committee      

Background:

            Legislative Branch:  In September 2008, Senator Russ Feingold and Representative John Conyers introduced the Democracy Restoration Act.  The bill seeks to restore the right to vote in federal elections to all persons with felony convictions who are not in prison. While similar bills introduced in past years have moved very little, there is general agreement among advocates and policy makers that 2009-2010 will provide a unique opportunity to restore voting rights at the federal level. First, there has been tremendous momentum built in the states. Over the last decade, 19 states have changed their laws to restore voting rights or ease the restoration process. Since 2005, Florida, Iowa, Maryland, Nebraska, Rhode Island, and Tennessee have all restored voting rights to substantial numbers of former offenders in their states.

            Many of these changes occurred in states with Republican leadership. George W. Bush, as Governor of Texas, eliminated the state's two-year waiting period for restoration of voting rights. Florida Governor Charlie Crist, also a Republican, amended the clemency rules to simplify the restoration process for some people with non-violent convictions. And Louisiana Republican Governor Bobby Jindal signed a bill this year that requires the Department of Corrections to notify people coming off probation and parole about their voting rights and to provide them with a voter registration form.

 Potential Allies, Potential Opposition, and Public Opinion:

            Potential Allies: 

• Law enforcement, including organizations listed below, and state corrections directors Theodis Beck (SC), Christopher Epps (MS), Justice Jones (OK), and Ashbel T. Wall (RI)
• Faith-based organizations, including Prison Fellowship Ministries, the United Methodist Church, the Aleph Institute and the American Friends Service Committee
• Civil rights and justice reform organizations, including the Brennan Center for Justice, the American Civil Liberties Union, The Sentencing Project, Drug Policy Alliance, NAACP Legal Defense and Educational Fund, Center for Community Alternatives, International Community Corrections Association, Prison Legal News, StoptheDrugWar.org, International CURE, Virginia CURE, and American Bar Association

            Potential Opposition: 

• Roger Clegg, Center for Equal Opportunity
• Todd Gaziano, Heritage Foundation
• Sens. McConnell (R-KY) and Sessions (R-AL)

             Like any election reform initiative, restoration of voting rights often falls along strict partisan lines. In an effort to pull this issue out of partisan battles and refocus the debate to one of democracy, not politics, the Brennan Center has built a substantial network of high level law enforcement and criminal justice leaders to support post-incarceration restoration of voting rights. The Brennan Center Law Enforcement and Criminal Justice Advisory Council stands ready to spread the message that restoration of voting rights is an important aspect of successful reentry and in fact works to protect public safety. The American Probation and Parole Association, the Association of Paroling Authorities International, and the National Black Police Association have all passed resolutions in favor of post-incarceration restoration. Organizing new allies will help build new, strong bipartisan support for reform.

             Public Opinion: The public supports voting rights, and this is evidenced by public opinion polls on the issue. A 2002 survey of 1,000 Americans, entitled Public Attitudes towards Felon Disenfranchisement in the United States, found that substantial majorities (64% and 62%, respectively) supported allowing people on probation and parole to vote. In addition, a 2006 survey, entitled Public Attitudes toward Rehabilitation and Reentry, found that 60% of Americans think the right to vote is an important factor in a person's successful reintegration into society after incarceration.

             Moreover, several national organizations representing law enforcement officials and legal professionals recognize the fundamental unfairness of continuing to exclude people from the franchise when they re-enter the community. Organizations that support automatic post-incarceration of voting rights include:

• American Bar Association 
• American Law Institute
• American Probation and Parole Association
• National Black Police Association
• National Organization of Black Law Enforcement Executives
• Association of Paroling Authorities International

Experts:

• Erika Wood, Brennan Center for Justice at NYU School of Law  
• Marc Mauer, The Sentencing Project
• Christopher Uggen, University of Minnesota, Department of Sociology
• Jeff Manza, New York University, Department of Sociology
• Pat Nolan, Prison Fellowship Ministries

For Further Information: 

Read Restoring the Right to Vote, http://www.brennancenter.org/content/resource/restoring_the_right_to_vote/, and

Felony Disenfranchisement Laws in the United States, http://www.sentencingproject.org/PublicationDetails.aspx?PublicationID=335.