Political and Demographic Explanations of Felon Disenfranchisement Policies in the States

• NCJ Number: 214743
• Journal: Justice Policy Journal Volume: 3 Issue: 1 Dated: Spring 2006 Pages: 1-24
• Author(s): Daniel S. Murphy; Adam J. Newmark; Phillip J. Ardoin
• Date Published: 2006
• Length: 24 pages
• Publication Format: Article
• Publication Type: Report (Study/Research)
• Language: English
• Country: United States of America
• Note: Downloaded June 30, 2006.

Annotation

This research identifies factors that have influenced the probability that a State has adopted more or less restrictive laws regarding a felon's right to vote.

Abstract

Findings show that with the exception of Maine and Vermont, every State denies incarcerated individuals the right to vote. Thirty States deny felons on probation or parole the right to vote; and in 12 States, felons are permanently banned from voting. Of the eight independent variables used to examine factors related to the dependent variable (laws that restrict felons' and prisoners' right to vote), only one variable, the political culture of a State, had a significant effect on the existence or restrictiveness of such laws. States that met Elazar's (1984) description of a "moralistic" political subculture had less restrictive laws regarding a felon's right to vote; whereas, States with a "traditionalistic" political subculture were significantly more likely to have stricter law against felon voting. "Moralistic" political subcultures tend to fit the definition of a "liberal" in the since that they trust government and believe that it has an important role in serving citizens' needs. Consequently, such political subcultures place great value on citizen participation in government through the right to vote. On the other hand, "traditionalistic" or more conservative political subcultures do not believe the government should have a significant role in citizen's lives and in fact mistrust government intervention or involvement in their lives. Consequently, they place little value on a citizen's participation in government and the right to vote. The other variable used in the study--political party competition, citizen ideology, incarceration rates, minority population, percent urban population, percent of the population above 65, and percent population that are college graduates--had no significant impact on the voting laws at issue.