Successes and setbacks in felony enfranchisement: No money for lawyers and debts, then no vote for you

author : Marco Rosaire Rossi

by Marco Rosaire Rossi

There is an old anarchist saying: "if voting ever changed anything they would make it illegal." Well, they have, or rather it has been. Ever since the end of the Civil War, when slavery took on a more judicial rather than economic form, there have been barriers to prevent prisoners from participating in the political process. Many states have tough regulations preventing ex-prisoners from exercising their right to vote, and only two states -- Maine and Vermont -- allow people to vote while incarcerated. With a constantly increasing prison population, this mass disenfranchisement of current and ex-prisoners has had a profound effect on the American electoral system. Currently, there are over six million eligible voters barred from voting due to past or current incarceration records. Notably, the African-American community has been hit extremely hard. As much as 13% of black males out of prison are being denied their right to vote because of a felony record.

Unfortunately, Washington state is no exception to this rule. There are over 250,000 ex-prisoners in Washington who are denied the right to vote due to felony convictions. The issue of felony disenfranchisement was a major controversy in the extremely close election between Governor Christine Gregoire and Dino Rossi. Republicans went to great lengths to try to convince the courts that they should exclude the role of ex-prisoners in the election.

There is some good news. People are fighting back  --  and winning! In March of this year, King County Superior Court Judge Michael Spearman struck down a Washington law that prohibited ex-prisoners with felony convictions from voting because they haven't paid court-imposed debts. In his ruling, Judge Spearman wrote, "It is well recognized that there is simply no rational relationship between the ability to pay (debts) and the exercise of constitutional rights."

The American Civil Liberties Union, who brought the case before the King County Superior Court, referred to the ruling as a landmark decision. According to Kathleen Taylor, the executive director of ACLU-WA, the Washington law was a modern "poll tax" which disproportionately targeted minority groups  --  especially African-Americans. "The right to vote is one our most fundamental rights in a democracy . . . (Washington) state should not impose economics to voting," Taylor said.

The success on the judicial front was overshadowed by a minor setback in legislation. Three bills were introduced which would have automatically restored voting rights to all prisoners upon release and would have created a special committee to study felon disenfranchisement. Unfortunately, none of the bills managed to muster enough support to pass, but the issue is not necessarily dead either. It is likely that similar bills will make their way back through legislation in the near future.

Voting in formal elections is currently the most marginal and token way of practicing democracy in our political system. Nevertheless, the demise of our electoral system and the exclusion of prisoner/ex-prisoner rights are illustrative of America's gradual slip toward fascism. Enfranchisement for prisoners and former prisoners are important goals for protecting and expanding what glimmer of democracy still exists.