1 in 13 Blacks Can’t Vote Due to Felony Convictions
Several Republican ran states, such as Florida, have begun massive voter purges. These purges are being fought by the Justice Department, but less is 
said about the methodical and disproportionate process in which blacks are disenfranchised because many have felony convictions. According to The Times Picayune:
One in every 40 adults – and one in every 13 African Americans – can’t vote because of felony convictions, according to a report released Thursday by The Sentencing Project.
And:
In three states – Florida, Kentucky and Virginia – one in five African Americans can’t vote because of their criminal record.
So not only are African Americans targeted in voter purges, but they’re also disproportionately impacted by laws which don’t allow convicted felons to vote. However some states, like Louisiana, allow ex-offenders to reclaim their voting rights, but many ex-offenders are unaware of their rights under the system:
The big difference is that Louisiana, unlike those states with far higher rates of disenfranchisement, permits felons to reclaim their vote once they complete their term of incarceration, probation and parole. All an ex-felon has to do to register or remove the flag from an earlier registration, is to produce for the voter registrar’s office the papers indicating that they have completed their sentence, probation or parole.
“We don’t’ have to jump through any hoops to get the franchise back, you just have to be clear of supervision to be in the mix,” said Henderson.
It is still disconcerting that so many African Americans cannot vote because of their ex-offender status. And it’s indicative of how the penal system destroys lives in innumerable ways.
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The truth in this situation, I would assume applies to anyone regardless of race in loosing their voting priviledges. Some times individuals create their own problems through negative actions, which can bring own far reaching consequiences in many areas of their life. This negative life style only gives the enemy the very excuse they want to hold you back by denying you of anything they possiblely can. So, maintain a positive life and stop supplying the enemy with the weapons they will use to destroy you with.
what a pretentious answer….. did u know that it is a felony to put your hands on a police officer of any kind?… including dogs, horses, and other animals…i didnt….a police dog was on the train platform and when i walked by it snapped at my heel. upon it snapping i kicked the dog in the face. i served one year, one month and a day in Jail and now have 3 felonies on my record because of this…..and your talking about positive lifestyles and such? that is COMPLETE BULLSHIT. i also had to do 3 years of probation. sir, have u ever had your right held from you for kicking a dog dog that attacked you?…..No. And i want you to know that this happened in Virginia….. next time u wanna make a judgement on people and things u know nothing about read a d**n book or ask someone….Jerk.
Doesn’t suprise me that these Southern states are going Jim Crow Lite! 1/13 equates to 1 million African Americans…….not a surprise at all!
WOW… “And it’s indicative of how the penal system destroys lives in innumerable ways.”… What’s this all about. The penal system does not commit the crime. This statement is socially irresponsible and only serves to give excuses for the repeated criminal behavior that is plaguing our communities. “It’s not my fault, the system did this to me”. A load of c**p. I think the community has every right to place restrictions they see fit on anything impacting their communities. I, for one, don’t want the “wrong” people voted into the offices on my community if they are chosen by some that have made or are still making, in some cases, bad decisions. This is not a black thing. A criminal record does not have a color in this case. You get convicted, you are flagged, you loose your privilege to vote. If you keep your record clean by not doing criminal tings, you don’t have any issue to be concerned with. Let’s call it for what it is.
So what your saying is that after a person has served their time they should be punished for the rest of their lives. That is an interesting argument. So a non-violent felon ie. marijuana use should be punished for life? And you wonder why ex-felons can’t feel like they are apart of society and often go back to committing crime. Maybe you should read about the innocence project and see how many innoncent felons have been released from prison or death row. Also check out the book slavery by another name.
Nice! Well put J.T.
I have mixed emotions on this one. Initially, I agreed that you should lose your voting rights after committing a crime. After you serve time and are released you should after a specified period of time get your voting rights back.
@J.T.:
Great post! There r far too many of us who r so completely ignorant to the egregious injustices of this UNJUST Criminal Injustice System. Unfortunately, we have exchanged the shackles on our bodies for shackles on our minds, which to me is a far worse predicament. There has always been a concerted effort by the system to disenfranchise blk voters n the same way that it was done during the days of Jim Crow. The mass incarceration that is occurring now has been termed The New Jim Crow & is the reason the U.S. is referred to as The Prison Nation. Nothing has changed fr those sordid days! That is why having a grasp of history is so important & the Jews teach their ppl to never forget The Holocaust. We would be so much better off as a race if we would only read & study history , vs. allowing the racist corporate controlled mainstream media brainwash us into thinking that what is happening is only due to our criminality as a race. N addition to the riveting “Slavery by Another Name” by Douglas Blackmun, I would also recommend the equally riveting “The New Jim Crow” by Michelle Alexander. Both books provide proof of how blk life is criminalized, even when research showed that crime was at a low, n order that blks remain enslaved & provide the prison system free labor for industry.
I was the head of the convicted felon voter registration committee in Shreveport, Louisiana. A felon is restricted from voting only if they are incarcerated or on probation or parole. Once the sentence has been carried out and is complete the right to vote is given back to the individual! People need to research their states. I’m not sure if this is a state or federal rule!!!! These people know the majority of us aren’t going to research things so they say a felon can’t vote and we just say oh well! Well I found out different and I registered hundreds of felons to vote in Shreveport, LA! A democrat had NEVER won Caddo Parish until we put forth the effort to get people registered and help them get to the polls!!!!!
WELL WHOSE FAULT IS THAT…. surely you are NOT saying that the WHITE man made US do it?????? or is this just another titile that seems to imply that?????
That’s the plan, don’t let them have the right to VOTE etc.
When you choose a life of crime, I said choose, how can you blame the system for your choice?
Too many african americans have given themselves over to an
ignorant life style designed especially for them by those who
want to see us fail to wake-up to the tricks of the devil.
Look at the behavior of our youth, look at what they give us to
digest as intelligent behavior. Strip clubs, getting drunk, using drugs, broken english, dropping out of school in middle school
walking around with your under ware showing, and on and on.
Please tell me how is this the so-called mans fault
I for one have no issue with paying one’s debt to society after a legitimate felony conviction. I do however have a problem with the same society forcing someone who has fully paid their debt to continue being disenfranchised.
An ex-convict still must pay taxes; therefore it is wrong to “Cherry-Pick” which of their rights are lost and which are not. If one is still considered an American citizen they should have all the rights and privileges afforded all American citizens after they pay their debt in full.
The right to vote is one of our most fundamental rights and is tied directly to our citizenship. As such it should never be fully revoked or denied.
We all have made mistakes; but most of us are never under threat of losing basic rights because of these mistakes. I believe that the U.S. Constitution was never written to fully and permanently strip a citizen of the right to vote.
There are typically two sides to every story, this one has it’s two sides, but they are EXTREMELY bent & skewed!!! As is, Illegal Aliens are given the rights of citizens of the great U.S. while at the same time certain factiions are working as hard as possible to find absolutely ANY reason to deny certain others ANY RIGHT they can, for ANY reason! I do NOT however buy the EXCUSE that the man or the System has driven people to the destructive/demeaning/illegal/ and/or depraved actions they take on a regular basis! We ALL have to suffer consequences for our actions sometimes, but the Right to Vote and therfore have a say in how Our Communities/Cities/States/& Country are run is a Right that should never be reniged on.
It’s amazing how some blacks defend the people who hates them most.Black women sleeps with them and kiss their a***s constantly.Black boys run around killing each other, but is scared of the true coward.Black people love their enemies.And, for the person who said, IF BLACK PEOPLE AVOID BECOMING A FELON, THEY WILL BE ALRIGHT..BS! Your skin color automaticly makes you a felon.Don’t believe the hype! And, for your sake..drop your n****r ways of thinking!
Bigups to JT, Kells, and Jaleel!
After a person has paid their debt to society, ALal rights should be restored, not only voting, but the right to get a job and make a decent living. People with criminal records are also banned from decent employment, housing, student loans, etc. How many times is a person to pay?? All those talking s**t about, “when you choose a life of crime…”, “… If you keep your record clean…”, and so on. You will continue to talk that s**t until it hits home for you…like Uncle George getting in a little trouble, or cousin ray-ray gets caught up. In fact, your own a***s may find yourselves on the other side of the law. Please dontvsay it could never happen.
Many folks have done time over bull s**t or lies or getting caught up and yes for actually committing crimes. But this country was founded due to folks fleeing England to start newlives because they were former convicts. The US has the
largest prison population in the world. Other countries actually
have programs so when people get out of prison, they are
made whole and can start their lives again.
Every Black person needs to read “The New Jim Crow” by Michelle Alexander. It will open your eyes and realize that just like Jim Crow, disenfranchisement is legalized discrimination.
I live in Florida and in the 2008 election my fiance, who is a felon, was given a voter registration card to vote in the election. A month or two after the election they sent him a letter stating his right to vote was revoked b/c he was a felon. Mind you he has never been able to vote before and never given a card to vote prior to the 2008 election but for some reason out of the blue he was given the right to vote for the 2008 election.