Felon disenfranchisement
Felon disenfranchisement means the
practice of denying voting rights to those people who are convicted
of felony offenses in the United States. A good percentage of the
American population is not able to exercise their franchise due to
felon disenfranchisement policies.
Felon disenfranchisement policies in different
states
The felon disenfranchisement
policies are different in different states in the USA. The
following are the details of it.
- In states like Lowa, there is permanent disenfranchisement for
people who are convicted of felony crimes.
- In states like Wyoming, Arizona, Missouri, Kentucky,
Mississippi, Tennessee, Alabama, Florida, etc there is permanent
disenfranchisement for some people who are convicted of felony
crimes.
- In states like Washington, Idaho, South Dakota, Nebraska,
Kansas, Oklahoma, New Mexico, Texas, Minnesota, etc. the voting
rights for people who are convicted of felony crimes will be
restored when the sentence is completed including prison, parole,
and probation.
- In states like California, Louisiana, Connecticut etc.the
voting rights for people who are convicted of felony crimes will be
automatically restored after released from prison and discharge
from parole. Here in these states, people on probation may also
exercise their voting rights.
- In states like Oregon, Nevada, Montana, Utah, Colorado, North
Dakota, Illinois, Michigan, Indiana etc.the voting rights for
people who are convicted of felony crimes will be automatically
restored after released from prison.
- In states like Maine and Vermont, there is no
disenfranchisement for people with criminal convictions as per a
felony crime.
The implication of the policies in the democratic
political system
The following are the implications of the disenfranchisement
policies in the democratic political system.
- The felon disenfranchisement is
affecting the open and participatory nature of the democratic
process in the United States.
- The felon disenfranchisement is
affecting the African -Americans and minorities the most compared
to others.
- The lack of voting rights of people
who are convicted of felony crimes may sometimes influence the
election outcome in the United States.
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