Penn Undergraduate Law Journal
  • Home
  • About
    • Mission
    • Masthead
    • Faculty Advisory Board
    • Partner Journals
    • Sponsors
  • Submissions
  • Full Issues
  • The Roundtable
    • Pre-Law Corner
  • Events
  • Contact
    • Contact
    • Apply
    • FAQs
  • Home
  • About
    • Mission
    • Masthead
    • Faculty Advisory Board
    • Partner Journals
    • Sponsors
  • Submissions
  • Full Issues
  • The Roundtable
    • Pre-Law Corner
  • Events
  • Contact
    • Contact
    • Apply
    • FAQs

The Roundtable


Welcome to the Roundtable, a forum for incisive commentary and analysis
on cases and developments in law and the legal system.


INTERESTED IN wRITING FOR tHE rOUNDTABLE?

Florida Takes A Stand On Felon Enfranchisement

11/15/2018

0 Comments

 
Picture
By Emma Davies
Emma Davies  is a freshman in the College of Arts and Sciences at the University of Pennsylvania.


Up until the 2018 Midterm Elections, Florida had one of the strictest disenfranchisement laws in the United States. Along with Iowa and Kentucky, Florida barred all people convicted of a felony from voting, unless they independently applied for a highly restrictive clemency application. Under Florida Governor Rick Scott, there were more than 20,000 pending cases, but only about 400 people were granted clemency each year [1]. As a result, some individuals waited more than 10 years to have their case heard, and it is estimated that it would take 51 years to hear the entirety of the backlog, if no new cases were added [2]. This policy, compounded with the fact that Florida has one of the highest incarceration rates (as a percentage of the population) [3], had led to Florida being one of the most disenfranchised states. However, this November, 64% of Florida voters voted in favor of the state constitutional amendment titled the “Voting Rights Restoration for Felons Initiative,” aka Florida Amendment 4, in a referendum. This amendment automatically restored voter rights for people with past felony convictions upon completion of sentencing, including parole and probation, amounting to the enfranchisement of 1.6 million people [4]. The results of this ballot initiative is extensive, and could potentially impact the direction of Florida’s 29 electoral votes in the 2020 National Elections [5].
Florida’s past policy of disenfranchisement is not an anomaly. Section 2 of the 14th Amendment to the United States Constitution gives legal support to a state’s ability to determine disenfranchisement policy towards those convicted of a crime, as ruled in the 1977 Supreme Court decision Richardson v. Ramirez . Section 1 of the 14th Amendment, commonly known as the “Equal Protection Clause” has failed to be successfully used as invalidation of the Section 2 exclusion of criminals from the right to vote [6]. Prior to November 6, 2018, 6.1 million Americans could not exercise the right to vote on grounds of holding felony convictions [7]. Currently, all states, except for Vermont and Maine, have restrictions on voting rights for those convicted of a felony. In 34 states, one is barred from voting even after release from prison. As a result, around 4 million citizens remain disenfranchised, despite reentry into society [8]. For those who are in the post-sentence phase, meaning they are adjusting back into daily life, with a job, kids, and a permanent residence, they are without a full recovery of rights. Furthermore, 11 states prevent convicted criminals from regaining voter status after completing prison, parole, and probation. Of those disenfranchised, 50% are in the post-sentence demographic [9].
​
Though some states have recently undergone changes to legal statutes, such as Maryland, which repealed its lifetime voting ban in 2007, voter disenfranchisement as a whole has increased dramatically over the past couple decades overall. From 1976 to 2016, the disenfranchised population of felons increased from around 1.2 million to 6.1 million, displaying the magnitude of the issue. As a result, the disenfranchised makes up a significant portion of the population; in Alabama, Kentucky, Mississippi, Tennessee, and Virginia, more than 7% of the population cannot vote [
10]


The enormity of disenfranchisement is further complicated by its racial implications. Today, felon disenfranchisement laws are criticized for mirroring the laws of Jim-Crow era politics, as they overwhelmingly affect ethnic minorities and those of lower socioeconomic status. Even though disenfranchisement laws are not explicitly racially discriminatory, the discriminatory enforcement of laws have caused disenfranchisement policies to particularly affect racial minorities.

Heavy policing of minority-majority neighborhoods, lingering effects of the “war on drugs,” explicit and implicit racial profiling, along with other factors, have contributed to a conviction population that is disproportionately African American. Further, biases and inequalities throughout the trial process from defense counsel assignment to sentencing discriminates against African Americans [11]. Nationally, incarceration rates of African Americans in state prisons are 5 times higher than that of whites, and in some states, at least 10 times higher [12]. African Americans are more likely to be arrested, to be sentenced, and tend to face harsher sentences. They are disproportionately represented in the prison population, and therefore the disenfranchised population too [13].

Moreover, a 2003 study found that a“larger non-white prison population significantly increases the odds that more restrictive felon disenfranchisement laws will be adopted,” meaning that disenfranchisement laws are most likely to be applied in states where minorities represent a larger portion of the prison population [14]. To this end, as of 2016, the disenfranchisement rate for the African American population is more than four times higher, than that of non-African American populations. Thus, the rate of conviction, compounded with the correlation between African American populations and severity of disenfranchisement laws, result in policy that is not neutral in application.
Of note, in some states, disenfranchisement laws also discriminate against economic status. For example, Tennessee requires all felons to repay legal fees, fines, and other obligation before being able to vote again, thereby creating barriers for low-income people to have their rights reinstated.

Felon disenfranchisement is not a simple issue. It is shaped by criminal justice policy that has widely been criticized as discriminatory, and outdated. The implications of these policies call into question the extent of the 14th Amendment's’ protections and exemptions for the right to vote. However, if the public opinion of Florida mirrors that of the nation at large, then perhaps other states will follow suit in alleviating restrictions on voting rights.

As it stands, mass incarceration remains a problem in America, and as a result, the amount of people affected by disenfranchisement laws remains alarmingly high. The results in Florida have the potential to change voting composition dramatically, and may lend itself to shifts in outcomes for local, state, and even national elections.

[1] "Voting Rights Restoration Efforts in Florida." Brennan Center For Justice. February 12, 2018. Accessed November 07, 2018. https://www.brennancenter.org/analysis/voting-rights-restoration-efforts-florida.
[2]"Hand v. Scott." Fair Elections Legal Network. May 25, 2018. Accessed November 05, 2018. http://fairelectionsnetwork.com/hand-v-scott/.
[3]United States of America. U.S Department of Justice. Bureau of Justice Statistics. Bureau of Justice Statistics. By Danielle Kaeble and Mary Cowhig. April 2018. Accessed November 5, 2018.
[4]"Florida Amendment 4, Voting Rights Restoration for Felons Initiative (2018)." Ballotpedia. Accessed November 05, 2018. https://ballotpedia.org/Florida_Amendment_4,_Voting_Rights_Restoration_for_Felons_Initiative_(2018).
[5]"2016 Presidential Election Interactive Map." 270toWin.com. June 6, 2017. Accessed November 06, 2018. https://www.270towin.com/maps/DOyj2.
[6]Volokh, Eugene. "Why Has the Supreme Court Held That Felons Lack the Constitutional Right to Vote?" The Washington Post. April 29, 2015. Accessed November 06, 2018. https://www.washingtonpost.com/news/volokh-conspiracy/wp/2015/04/29/why-has-the-supreme-court-held-that-felons-lack-the-constitutional-right-to-vote/?noredirect=on&utm_term=.6f20451a298b.
[7]"Felony Disenfranchisement." The Sentencing Project. 2018. Accessed November 06, 2018. https://www.sentencingproject.org/issues/felony-disenfranchisement/.
[8]Holodny, Elena. "Millions of American Adults Are Not Allowed to Vote - and They Could Change History." Business Insider. January 03, 2018. Accessed November 06, 2018. https://www.businessinsider.com/what-if-felons-could-vote-2017-7.
[9]Uggen, Christopher, Ryan Larson, and Sharon Shannon. "6 Million Lost Voters: State-Level Estimates of Felony Disenfranchisement, 2016." The Sentencing Project. October 06, 2016. Accessed November 06, 2018. https://www.sentencingproject.org/publications/6-million-lost-voters-state-level-estimates-felony-disenfranchisement-2016/.
[10]ProCon.org, "Number of People by State Who Cannot Vote Due to a Felony Conviction," ProCon.org. last modified October 4, 2017. http://felonvoting.procon.org/view.resource.php?resourceID=000287.
[11]"Report to the United Nations on Racial Disparities in the U.S. Criminal Justice System." The Sentencing Project. April 19, 2018. Accessed November 06, 2018. https://www.sentencingproject.org/publications/un-report-on-racial-disparities/.
[12]The Sentencing Project. "The Color of Justice: Racial and Ethnic Disparity in State Prisons." News release, 2016. The Sentencing Project. Accessed November 5, 2018. https://www.sentencingproject.org/wp-content/uploads/2016/06/The-Color-of-Justice-Racial-and-Ethnic-Disparity-in-State-Prisons.pdf.
[13]"Criminal Justice Facts." The Sentencing Project. Accessed November 06, 2018. https://www.sentencingproject.org/criminal-justice-facts/.
[14]Behrens, Angela, Christopher Uggen, and Jeff Manza. "Ballot Manipulation and the “Menace of Negro Domination”: Racial Threat and Felon Disenfranchisement in the United States, 1850–2002." American Journal of Sociology 109, no. 3 (November 2003): 559-605. Accessed November 5, 2018. doi:10.1086/378647.

Photo Credit:  The Plain Dealer

The opinions and views expressed through this publication are the opinions of the designated authors and do not reflect the opinions or views of the Penn Undergraduate Law Journal, our staff, or our clients.

0 Comments

Your comment will be posted after it is approved.


Leave a Reply.


    Categories

    All
    Akshita Tiwary
    Alana Bess
    Alana Mattei
    Albert Manfredi
    Alexander Saeedy
    Alexandra Aaron
    Alexandra Kanan
    Alice Giannini
    Alicia Augustin
    Alicia Kysar
    Ally Kalishman
    Ally Margolis
    Alya Abbassian
    Anika Prakash
    Anna Schwartz
    Ashley Kim
    Astha Pandey
    Audrey Pan
    Benjamin Ng'aru
    Brónach Rafferty
    Bryce Klehm
    Cary Holley
    Christina Gunzenhauser
    Christine Mitchell
    Christopher Brown
    Clarissa Alvarez
    Cole Borlee
    Connor Gallagher
    Dan Spinelli
    Dan Zhang
    David Katz
    Davis Berlind
    Derek Willie
    Dhilan Lavu
    Edgar Palomino
    Edna Simbi
    Emma Davies
    Esther Lee
    Evelyn Bond
    Filzah Belal
    Frank Geng
    Gabriel Maliha
    Georgia Ray
    Graham Reynolds
    Habib Olapade
    Hailie Goldsmith
    Haley Son
    Harshit Rai
    Henry Lininger
    Hetal Doshi
    Iris Zhang
    Irtaza Ali
    Isabela Baghdady
    Ishita Chakrabarty
    Jack Burgess
    Jessica "Lulu" Lipman
    Joe Anderson
    Jonathan Lahdo
    Jonathan Stahl
    Joseph Squillaro
    Justin Yang
    Kaitlyn Rentala
    Kanishka Bhukya
    Katie Kaufman
    Kelly Liang
    Keshav Sharma
    Ketaki Gujar
    Lauren Pak
    Lavi Ben Dor
    Libby Rozbruch
    Lindsey Li
    Luis Bravo
    Lyndsey Reeve
    Madeline Decker
    Maja Cvjetanovic
    Maliha Farrooz
    Marco DiLeonardo
    Margaret Lu
    Matthew Caulfield
    Michael Keshmiri
    Mina Nur Basmaci
    Muskan Mumtaz
    Natalie Peelish
    Natasha Darlington
    Natasha Kang
    Nayeon Kim
    Nicholas Parsons
    Nicholas Williams
    Nicole Greenstein
    Nihal Sahu
    Omar Khoury
    Owen Voutsinas Klose
    Owen Voutsinas-Klose
    Pheby Liu
    Rachel Bina
    Rachel Gu
    Rachel Pomerantz
    Rebecca Heilweil
    Regina Salmons
    Sajan Srivastava
    Sandeep Suresh
    Sanjay Dureseti
    Sarah Simon
    Saranya Das Sharma
    Saranya Sharma
    Sasha Bryski
    Saxon Bryant
    Sean Foley
    Sebastian Bates
    Serena Camici
    Shahana Banerjee
    Shannon Alvino
    Shiven Sharma
    Siddarth Sethi
    Sneha Parthasarathy
    Sneha Sharma
    Sophie Lovering
    Steven Jacobson
    Suaida Firoze
    Suprateek Neogi
    Takane Shoji
    Tanner Bowen
    Taryn MacKinney
    Thomas Cribbins
    Todd Costa
    Tyler Larkworthy
    Vatsal Patel
    Vikram Balasubramanian
    Vishwajeet Deshmukh
    Wajeeha Ahmad
    Yeonhwa Lee

    Archives

    January 2023
    December 2022
    November 2022
    September 2022
    June 2022
    March 2022
    February 2022
    January 2022
    December 2021
    November 2021
    May 2021
    April 2021
    March 2021
    February 2021
    January 2021
    December 2020
    November 2020
    October 2020
    July 2020
    June 2020
    May 2020
    April 2020
    March 2020
    February 2020
    December 2019
    November 2019
    October 2019
    September 2019
    August 2019
    July 2019
    May 2019
    April 2019
    March 2019
    January 2019
    December 2018
    November 2018
    October 2018
    September 2018
    August 2018
    July 2018
    June 2018
    May 2018
    April 2018
    March 2018
    February 2018
    December 2017
    November 2017
    October 2017
    August 2017
    July 2017
    May 2017
    April 2017
    March 2017
    February 2017
    January 2017
    December 2016
    November 2016
    October 2016
    September 2016
    August 2016
    July 2016
    June 2016
    April 2016
    March 2016
    February 2016
    December 2015
    November 2015
    October 2015
    September 2015
    August 2015
    July 2015
    June 2015
    May 2015
    April 2015
    March 2015
    February 2015
    November 2014
    October 2014
    August 2014
    July 2014
    June 2014
    May 2014
    April 2014
    March 2014
    December 2013
    November 2013
    October 2013
    September 2013

Picture
Picture
​