Two Studies Suggest Felon Voting Laws Disproportionately Affect Black Men.

 

• Originally published in The Frontrunner September 23, 2004 

Copyright 2004 Bulletin News Network, Inc.

The New York Times (9/23, Butterfield) reports, "As many as one of every seven black men in Atlanta who have been convicted of a felony, and one of every four in Providence, R.I., cannot vote in this year's election, according to a pair of studies released yesterday. The studies, the first to look at felon disenfranchisement laws' effect on voting in individual cities, add to a growing body of evidence that those laws have a disproportionate effect on African-Americans because the percentage of black men with felony convictions is much larger than their share of the general population." The Atlanta study "concluded that two-thirds of the gap in voter registration between black males and other ethnic and gender groups was attributable to Georgia's felon disenfranchisement law. ... Interest in the effect of felon disenfranchisement laws has increased since the presidential election of 2000, when George W. Bush won Florida by only 537 votes; an estimated 600,000 people in the state, most black, were barred from voting because of felony convictions." The Times adds, "The study in Providence, by the Rhode Island Family Life Center, which assists inmates returning home from prison, found that disenfranchisement was particularly concentrated in poor neighborhoods with large numbers of blacks. For example, more than 40 percent of black men in several neighborhoods in south Providence are barred from voting."

The Washington Post (9/23, A10, Fears) reports, "Black men in Atlanta were 11 times more likely than nonblack men to be disenfranchised, the study showed. In 11 of the city's neighborhoods, more than 10 percent of 11,689 black males were disenfranchised. Less than 2 percent of nonblack males are not allowed to vote in the city, compared with 14 percent of black males." The Post adds that many Democrats "have said the disproportionately high incarceration rates of African Americans, coupled with the revocation of voting rights of felons, casts a pall on voting. ... Republicans have countered that activists hoping to restore voting rights to ex-convicts are more interested in political gamesmanship than civic altruism." The Post notes that "besides Florida, seven other states including Virginia bar convicts and former convicts from voting for life if they fail to appeal. Maryland puts restrictions on certain criminal categories. In the District, felony convicts can vote after their terms end. An additional 33 states deny the right to vote to ex-convicts on parole, and 48 states place various restrictions on felon voting. Only Maine and Vermont have no restrictions."