Locked Out Felon Disenfranchisement and American Democracy

by Manza, Jeff; Uggen, Christopher

• ISBN13: 9780195341942
• ISBN10: 0195341945
• Format: Paperback
• Copyright: 2008-04-11
• Publisher: Oxford University Press

Summary

5.4 million Americans--1 in every 40 voting-age adults--are denied the right to participate in democratic elections because of a past or current felony conviction. In several American states, 1 in 4 black men cannot vote due to a felony conviction. In a country that prides itself on universal suffrage, how did the United States come to deny a voice to such a large percentage of its citizenry? What are the consequences of large-scale disenfranchisement--for election outcomes, for the reintegration of former offenders back into their communities, and for public policy more generally? Locked Out exposes one of the most important, yet little known, threats to the health of American democracy. It reveals the centrality of racial factors in the origins of these laws, and their impact on today's political landscape. Marshalling the first real empirical evidence on the issue to make a case for reform, the authors' groundbreaking analysis will inform all future policy and political debates on the laws governing the political rights of criminals.

Author Biography

Jeff Manza is Professor of Sociology at New York University. Christopher Uggen is Distinguished McKnight Professor of Sociology at the University of Minnesota.

Table of Contents

Preface and Acknowledgements

Introduction

Foundations

The Racial Origins of Felon Disenfranchisement

The Disenfranchised Population

The Contemporary Disenfranchisement Regime

Political Attitudes, Voting, and Criminal Behavior

Disenfranchisement and Civic Reintegration

The Impact of Disenfranchisement on Political Participation

A Threat to Democracy?

Public Opinion and Felon Disenfranchisement

Unlocking the Vote

Appendices

Notes

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