John Sides takes a look at a new study showing how contact with the criminal-justice system makes you less likely to vote:
It shows the apparent effect of contact with the criminal justice system on whether people are registered to vote, actually vote or participate in at least one civic organization. People are far less likely to do any of these things as their contact with police and prisons ranges from no contact to being questioned, arrested, convicted, serving time in prison or serving at least one year in prison ("serious time").
Proponents of laws that would end felony disenfranchisement argue that greater involvement in the political process can help connect the formerly incarcerated to society in a way that will reduce the possibility of future recidivism, but I'm not sure there's any non-anecdotal information that proves a causal relationship.
Part of what this chart shows, however, is how petty pro-felony disenfranchisement activists really are. These people are already less likely to participate in the political process, but conservative activists oppose re-enfranchising them simply because they're more likely to vote Democratic. There's no evidence felony disenfranchisement deters crime, prompts the convicted to feel remorse, or provides any civic benefit whatsoever, but when part of your job is to knock off the other side's voters, every little bit counts.
Sides notes that better recidivism programs might lead to greater political participation among the formerly incarcerated, but the last thing many voting-rights-focused conservative activists want is for former felons to be more politically engaged post-incarceration. Aside from voting for Democrats, they might actually have an effect on our counterproductive corrections policies.
