ABSTRACT FROM SOROS OPEN SOCIETY INSTITUTE PROPOSAL (JEFF MANZA AND
CHRISTOPHER UGGEN)
PROJECT SUMMARY
Convicted felons are deprived of the right to vote in virtually
every state, and in 15 states many ex-felons
are also barred from this basic right of citizenship. The massive increase in
the incarcerated population has meant that the century-long struggle to
enfranchise all Americans has begun to be reversed. Further, since poor whites
and minorities are over-represented in correctional populations, denying felons
and ex-felons the right to vote has weakened the political voice of poor and
minority communities. These facts have recently drawn the attention of
policymakers, as exhibited in the exchange in the Bradley-Gore Democratic presidential
debate in Iowa on January 17.
The time has now come for a systematic examination and reassessment of laws
denying felons and ex-felons the right to vote. The goal of this project is to
provide such as assessment. This work is important for a number of reasons: (1)
It will develop rigorous estimates of the current size
and historical trends in the disfranchised population, including detailed
state-level analyses, and future projections. (2) It will assess the impact of
these changes on political outcomes over the past 25 years – information
necessary to determine whether the disproportionate impact of felon
disfranchisement on African Americans offers a viable challenge to such laws
under the Voting Rights Act. (3) It will examine how experiencing criminal
sanctions affects the growing numbers of incarcerated citizens through new
survey research and in-depth interviews with individual prisoners. (4) Finally,
it will make this important information available to policymakers, legal and
political activists, courts, and the interested public.