Bipartisan Legislation Would Restore Voting Rights to Ex-Prisoners

Posted by Erika Wood, Brennan Center for Justice at 4:16 PM on February 25, 2008.

Thirty-five states deny the vote to felons who have served their time. Now a Democrat and a Republican are trying to change that.

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Senator Russ Feingold and Secretary Jack Kemp joined together last week to propose the Democracy Restoration Act -- a federal law that seeks to restore voting rights to U.S. citizens on probation and parole. The proposal is noteworthy for several reasons, not the least of which is that it is made by two prominent political figures: a Democrat and a Republican. The bipartisan proposal makes it clear that restoring voting rights is about democracy, not about politics.

More than 5.3 million American citizens are denied the vote in our country because of a criminal conviction in their past. Nearly four million are people who have been released from prison but continue to be disenfranchised for years, often for decades, and sometimes for life.

As Senator Feingold and Secretary Kemp note, there has been significant momentum in the states to end these draconian disenfranchisement laws. In the last decade, 16 states have eased voting restrictions on people with conviction histories. In 2007 alone, Florida, Maryland, and Rhode Island all took steps to restore voting rights. But disenfranchisement is a national problem. Thirty-five states continue to deny the vote to people who have been released from prison and rejoined society.

The right to vote forms the core of American democracy. Once a privilege reserved for a few white men, Americans have fought hard to make it a right guaranteed for all. The Democracy Restoration Act would make this ideal into a reality. It is a proposal that we can all come together to support, not as Democrats or Republicans, or liberals or conservatives, but as Americans who believe in our democracy.

Tagged as: voter disenfranchisement, jack kemp, feingold, democracy restoration act, voting rights

Erika Wood works principally on the Brennan Center's efforts to restore the vote to people with felony convictions, as well as other voting and representation issues. Prior to joining the Center, she was an attorney with the Legal Action Center where she worked on cases involving HIV/AIDS discrimination and privacy, as well as various criminal justice issues including felony re-enfranchisement.