Disenfranchisement of the Formerly Incarcerated Remains Serious Problem in Alabama
November 14, 2011
The State of Alabama continues to deny the right to vote to citizens who have served and completed sentences for felony convictions. Alabama's disenfranchisement rate of one in 14 residents is triple the national average.
Mass incarceration has a disproportionate effect on the voting power of poor and minority communities. According to a 2006 report, Alabama denies the right to vote to more than 250,000 citizens who have been convicted of felonies.
The majority of disenfranchised Alabamians are African American. Though comprising only 26% of the state’s total population at the time of the 2008 presidential election, African Americans made up 70% of all disenfranchised persons in Alabama.
Currently, 180,000 African Americans in Alabama are excluded from the franchise. EJI estimates that without significant reform the percentage of all black men in Alabama facing disenfranchisement could increase from about 30% today to 40% by 2020.
Mass incarceration has a disproportionate effect on the voting power of poor and minority communities. According to a 2006 report, Alabama denies the right to vote to more than 250,000 citizens who have been convicted of felonies.
The majority of disenfranchised Alabamians are African American. Though comprising only 26% of the state’s total population at the time of the 2008 presidential election, African Americans made up 70% of all disenfranchised persons in Alabama.
Currently, 180,000 African Americans in Alabama are excluded from the franchise. EJI estimates that without significant reform the percentage of all black men in Alabama facing disenfranchisement could increase from about 30% today to 40% by 2020.
Source URL: http://eji.org/eji/node/579
Links:[1] http://campaignstops.blogs.nytimes.com/2011/11/07/who-gets-to-vote/
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