US states disenfranchise once-imprisoned people

George Hawkins was imprisoned when he was 17 and served a 13-year prison sentence until May 2023. Now 32 years old, he is one of more than 300 000 residents in the southern state of Virginia who have been disenfranchised — or stripped of the right to vote — because of a prior felony conviction."It's unfair," Hawkins said on a sunny autumn day while sitting in a cafe in Virginia's capital, Richmond. "I'm a part of my community, of society. I pay taxes. I do everything that a citizen does and obey the people who govern me. But I have no say in the world that I live in."His voice was calm; he spoke like a man who has repeated these lines over and over again.On 5 November, voters will head to the polls to elect the American president. They will also decide on whom they want to represent them in Congress and on their city councils, on who holds the highest state offices and who sits on their local school boards.Across the United States, people who have been previously convicted of felonies are barred from taking part in this democratic ritual — even after they've completed their sentences."These men and women go from being locked up to being locked out," said Christa Ellison, executive director of the organisation Freedom Over Everything, which advocates for the rights of incarcerated and formerly incarcerated people in Virginia.Ellison and Hawkins were meeting for breakfast with fellow activist Hassan Shabazz.Locked outThe American Civil Liberties Union (ACLU) estimates that US states bar a total of 4.6 million people from voting because of prior convictions. Each state has its own law on who stays 'locked out' of the process when their fellow citizens head to the polls.In states such as California and Minnesota, only currently incarcerated people are not allowed to vote. People who have completed their sentences may return to the polls.Virginia is the state with the strictest regulations. Anybody with a felony conviction is generally barred from voting. People who have completed their sentences and paid related fines can submit a request to the governor, currently Republican Glenn Youngkin, who decides on a case-by-case basis whose voting rights will be reinstated.In 2023, a spokesperson said Youngkin "firmly believes in the importance of second chances for Virginians who have made mistakes but are working to move forward as active members of our citizenry". At the time of publication for this article, Youngkin's office had yet to respond to DW's latest request for comment on his current position on voting rights.Just a few days after completing his sentence for attempted murder, Hawkins requested the reinstatement of his voting rights. "I was denied so fast I didn't know what was happening," he said. "As soon as I got that, I applied again. This time it said I was deemed ineligible."Hawkins took the matter to court, but his case was rejected this August. District Judge John A. Gibney Jr. ruled that, though Youngkin's method of receiving petitions and deciding how to rule on them without any explanation is intransparent, "much like a monarch", it does not violate any laws.

US states disenfranchise once-imprisoned people

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Namibian Sun 2025-05-01

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US states disenfranchise once-imprisoned people

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Namibian Sun 2025-05-01

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