Voting is considered a right for every citizen. However, this right to vote to the eligible people becomes a bone of contention when gets convicted of criminal offenses. By default, the more serious categories of crimes attract restriction to rights to vote. In the usual law jurisdictions, these kinds of people are termed as felons, and thus the use of a phrase felony disenfranchisement is often used. Under the US laws, crimes that attract a fine above $1000 and/or imprisonment for more than one year makes the person a felon.
There is a variation of jurisdiction to whether you consider this kind of disfranchisement permanent or to reinstate the right to vote once the person completes probation or parole, or even serves a sentence. Felony disenfranchisement, whatsoever, is a leading collateral result upon getting criminal convictions and leads to the loss of some rights upon criminal offense conviction.
According to the argument raised by proponents, the felons are people who ‘break’ their social contract and also given up every right to be participants within civil societies. Those who hold the opinion that felons have already proved their poor judgment, which implicates that they lack a voice in the political voting process. Those of different opinion argue that felony disfranchisement conflicts and restricts the ideologies governing universal rights to vote. Its effects may bar convicts from communal and civic participation.
Those who oppose contends that the idea of felony disenfranchisement leaves an incentive loophole for political opponents to twist the criminal laws in favor of inexplicably aiming at groups that oppose those in power. They may subject them to their “civic deaths” to ensure that their opponents’ votes are minimized at all cost. This article is a perfect answer as to whether felons or ex-felons can vote.
Who Decides Voting Requirements?
Every state is governed by the state laws towards the one’s eligibility to voting. It implies that a state under the Governor’s leadership has all powers to set rules and regulations towards suffrage restoration. Most of these states have simplified the process since the 1990s. The NCSL (National Conference of State Legislatures) outlines the options for the states. NCSL has categorized the states into four primary classifications depending on their preferred approach. In general, the decision on how to treat felons and ex-felons as well as the voting requirements is on the respective states.
There are states where the felons and ex-felons never get to lose their suffrage. Vermont and Maine states are examples where felons and ex-felons right to vote is never taken away even when incarcerated.
There are states where felons and ex-felons lose their suffrage only when serving incarceration. It implies that they get to regain their right to vote on release automatically. However, they are required to take a course in the normal process of voter registration. There are 14 states in the District of Columbia using this approach.
The third division is for the states where felons lose their rights until they complete their sentence. Currently, only 21 states where felons suffrage is lost once incarcerated and during probation or parole. The suffrage restoration process is automated to occur once this period is over. The ex-felons may also have to clear their unsettled restitution or fees before getting their rights restored. California states fall under this category, though in 2016, legislation was passed to allow felons in the county jails to acquire suffrage.
The fourth division is of states where the felon’s suffrage is lost even after completing their sentence. About 13 states have taken this approach. Here, felons and ex-felons don’t regain their voting right for an indefinite time depending on the crime committed. Some states require the ex-felons to wait even after completing their sentence before the restoration of their voting rights. Others require the governor’s pardon to have their voting rights restored. Some of those convicted for criminal offenses may permanently lose their suffrage.
Can Felons Or Ex-Felons Vote
The answer to the question of whether felons or ex-felons can vote or not is both a yes and no depending on the state in question. Felons or the ex-felons’ rights to votes varies from state to state. It means that some states have embraced the rights to vote as a requirement that every citizen ought to possess while others bar the convicts. Nonetheless, it is only in two states where the eligible citizens of age who were at one point convicted of felony gets barred from voting over a certain duration.
Most states reinstate the person’s rights with immediate effect upon serving their prison or jail terms. On the other hand, there are those states that keep the felons barred of voting during their parole or probation time. Some of these states permanently disenfranchise the ex-felons, and others require that such people with past offense convictions petition the state government for the restoration of their rights.
There are those states that contend that a person put under felony disenfranchisement should lose every right, including the right to vote. Such a person should face a revoke of control or power of a particular community or individual. They are claimed to remain bound of natural amenities and deprived of a legal right, franchise, innate immunity, or some privilege. To a great extent, the voting rights based on felony disenfranchisement terms are as per the specific law or implicitly by creating some fashioned discriminations, intimidation or even through the placement of unreasonable requirements to sieve out voters.
In some cases, felons and ex-felons may successfully go through the process and vote or remain hindered by the set rules. Many states deliberately retract the right to vote from the sentenced felons, but they differ on the appropriate time or if suffrage can get reinstated. In some of these states, felons and ex-felons are also hindered of taking part in any federal election, even when their crimes were for state convictions.
Which States Allow Felons Or Ex-Felons To Vote
As aforementioned, the right to vote or the incarceration is dependent on the state and its governance. In Vermont and Maine, both the felons and ex-felons are allowed to vote regardless of whether serving a sentence as inmates, parolees or probationers. A couple of other states allows the Individuals convicted of a felony to vote on fulfilling certain conditions.
The ex-felons serving their convictions as probationers in South Dakota, New York, Connecticut, Colorado, and California are allowed to vote, but felons who are either inmates or parolees have a limitation. The felons or ex-felons serving as parolees and probationers in District of Columbia, Utah, Rhode Island, Hawaii, Pennsylvania, Illinois, Oregon, Indiana, Ohio, Massachusetts, North Dakota, Michigan, New Hampshire, and Montana are allowed to vote. The only requirement is for these felons or ex-felons to be out of incarceration. In some other states, it is either the felons or the ex-felons who are allowed to vote and vice versa.
Which States Don’t Allow Felons Or Ex-Felons To Vote
Twenty states do not allow the felons to vote while under felony disenfranchisement. These states include Wisconsin, Alaska, West Virginia, Arkansas, Washington, Georgia, Texas, Idaho, South Carolina, Iowa, North Carolina, Kansas, Oklahoma, Louisiana, New Mexico, Maryland, New Jersey, Minnesota, Nebraska, and Missouri. The person who has been convicted of any form of a felony are not allowed to vote while serving the sentence term.
Nonetheless, the ex-felons get to regain their right to vote automatically after completing their sentence. It means that they can join the rest of the voters and follow the usual voting process in making both the state and federal political decisions. In Iowa, 2005, the Governor then issued an order claiming the restoration of all the voting rights for the people that complete their felony sentence. The executive order was then upheld by the state supreme court later in the same year.
On the other hand, there are nine states where the felons or ex-felons may permanently lose their suffrage. They include Wyoming, Alabama, Tennessee, Arizona, Nevada, Delaware, Mississippi, Florida, and Kentucky. Some felons or ex-felons are allowed to vote upon their sentence completion. Some have to fulfill some special set condition to warrant them of having their voting right reinstatement.
A good case is the Delaware state when an ex-felon requires five years after getting cleared of convictions before his/her suffrage gets restored. Also, Kentucky requires the ex-felon to take outlined actions to claim back the voting rights. Else, the person may lose the rights to vote if they don’t meet the desired criteria.
Conclusion
In conclusion, suffrage limitation is based on the framework as set by the National Conference of State Legislatures that the state in question has put in place. In the United States of America, there are only two states where the voting rights are unrestricted, meaning felons may vote while serving a sentence and ex-felons are free to vote. In three states, the right to vote is restored once the convicted person service the prison and parole terms. There are nine states where the felons or ex-felons risk of permanently losing their right to vote. About 15 states have it that the convict gains back the rights to vote after serving the imprisonment term. Lastly, in 20 states, one’s suffrage can only get restored after incarceration, parole, and probation.