Term Paper

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Restoring Voting Rights for Convicted Felons in the United States

Destiny Nance

Keiser University

Crime and Punishment

Dr. Restivo

November 9th, 2025

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Restoring Voting Rights for Convicted Felons in the United States

Topic Overview

• The problem of disenfranchisement of convicted felons in the United States remains

an acute one in corrections.

• The laws of the oppressing states do not allow millions of citizens who have served

their sentences to vote. The policy paper presents the ethical, social, and political

implications of disenfranchisement and a federal policy to restore voting rights

automatically at the end of the sentence.

• The analysis approach includes the empirical data, the constitutional principles, and

the study of the correctional policies so that the policy of voting restoration could

strengthen the reintegration and democratic inclusion.

Thesis Statement

• Voting rights of convicted felons as they complete their term is a policy that should be

applied nationwide because it promotes civic reintegration, reduces recidivism, and

removes democratic equality, which has created an institutional block that

disproportionately impacts minority groups.

Problem Statement

Who: The target population will include formally imprisoned individuals, African American

and Hispanic males in particular, who are not able to engage in civic life anymore, having

served their terms. Some of the authorities that enforce the laws of disenfranchisement

include the state election boards and correctional facilities.

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What: Over 4.6 million Americans will be disenfranchised by 2024 due to felony-related

convictions (Uggen et al., 2024). This kind of disenfranchisement overturns the process of

reintegration and marginalization.

When: The issue is endemic because the law has reverted to the post-Reconstruction policy

of the existing laws that are still in force, which disenfranchise citizens even after they have

completed their legal sentence.

Where: The legislation of disenfranchising varied in all states, the most repressive being in

the South and Midwest. The restriction on the restoration of voting rights is very severe in

states such as Florida and Kentucky.

How: The current approaches involve petitions or gubernatorial clemency, which are not

always stable and are politically arbitrary. These processes are inclined towards delays or

disenfranchisement of reinstatement without any definite criterion.

Why: This is because the root cause of why felony disenfranchisement still exists is that it is

an offshoot of the racial discrimination in the past and the philosophy of punitive mode

correction that does not view voting as one of the basic rights that are intertwined with social

rehabilitation. The implementation of a universal federal policy would promote justice,

equality, and long-term reintegration results with empirical proof (Mate, 2021; Conte, 2024).

Conclusion

• Voting Rights Reinstatements is an important step towards improving equality, civic

accountability, and proper reintegration into society for convicted felons.

• It is constantly demonstrated that civic inclusion results in low recidivism and high

community engagement.

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• There could be a common federal policy, which would assist in establishing equality

among states, promoting the involvement of democracy, and making the correctional

system fairer.

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References

Conte, M. (2024). Reclaiming Democracy: Examining Disenfranchisement Laws and Policy

Recommendations to Restore Voting Rights for Formerly Incarcerated People.

https://scholarship.claremont.edu/cmc_theses/3451

Mate, M. (2021). Felony disenfranchisement and voting rights restoration in the states. Nev.

LJ, 22, 967.

https://heinonline.org/HOL/LandingPage?handle=hein.journals/nevlj22&div=29&id=

&page=

Uggen, C., Stewart, R., & Lookner, E. (2024). US Disenfranchisement and Re-

Enfranchisement Explained. In Prisoners' Vote (pp. 96-114). Routledge.

https://www.taylorfrancis.com/chapters/edit/10.4324/9781003274636-8/us-

disenfranchisement-re-enfranchisement-explained-christopher-uggen-robert-stewart-

emma-lookner