What is Criminal Disenfranchisement?

Criminal disenfranchisement is defined as the loss of the right to vote by a person convicted of or sentenced to imprisonment for a felony. Since before the civil war, this practice has been a part of the United States justice system mostly as a means to handle the racial issues with voting but then also in regards to the felons and rebels that participated in the Southern “rebellion” during the Civil War. This practice has recently gained some popularity since a debate has developed as to whether it is unconstitutional or not. Is voting a right or a privilege?

First let’s define what a right is. A right is defined as something to which a person is entitled. Most American rights are determined by our constitution. Next let’s define privilege. A Privilege is a special advantage enjoyed by a particular group. You could say that anyone over the age of 16 has the privilege to drive. So when it comes to voting it has a very gray area as to how we should define whether it is a right allotted by the constitution, or whether it is a privilege given to those who follow the laws of America.

A major determining factor as to whether this type of punishment is considered constitutional is that of the 2nd clause of the 14th Amendment which repealed the Three-Fifths compromise, stating that the Penalty Clause which allowed the ability to vote to be revoked for those that participated in “rebellion or other crime”. This exception applied to criminals and also to those who had participated in the Southern “rebellion” during the Civil War. Even though this section of the Amendment states that it is not unconstitutional it is still a large debate as to whether states should be allowed to put restrictions on voting. (US Const., amend. XIV)

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Hinchcliff, Abigail M. "The ‘Other’ Side of Richardson v. Ramirez: A Textual Challenge to Felon Disenfranchisement." Yale Law Journal 121.1 (2011): 194-236. Yale Law Journal. Web. 16 Apr. 2014.

Uggen, Christopher, Angela Behrens, and Jeff Manza. "Criminal Disenfranchisement." Annual Review of Law and Social Science 1 (2005): 307-322. University of Minnesota-Magrath Library (Twin Cities). Web. 16 Apr. 2014.