By Vivian Isaboke and Joseph Sparacio
Today approximately one in 30 Americans cannot vote due to states’ voting bans that automatically deprive citizens of their right to vote upon conviction of a felony, regardless of the nature or gravity of the offense. The bans typically extend well past the period of a felon’s incarceration. Some sort of ban exists in 48 states throughout the country, including New Jersey.
Compared to other countries, the U.S.’s disenfranchisement policies are exceptional in their breadth and severity. To put this into perspective: if you work in food service and forget to report your tips to the IRS (26 U.S. Code § 7201), you could be convicted of a felony and lose your right to vote, just as if you had committed a violent crime such as murder (18 U.S. Code § 1111).
International law courts, such as the European Court of Human Rights, have held time and again that imposing a blanket voting ban as part of a criminal sentence violates a citizen’s human rights. Under European law, courts can revoke a citizen’s right to vote only if that citizen has been found guilty of a crime related to voter fraud or subversion of the democratic process.
States should abolish felony disenfranchisement because it impacts people of color in disproportionate ways. If states wish to retain some form of felony disenfranchisement, they should adopt bans that apply only to individuals convicted of election law offenses. This ban would pass muster under international law because it takes into account the nature and gravity of the offense. It would not apply to all felons, but to felons who have undermined the institutions of representative democracy.
The cases of Michael Cohen’s violation of campaign finance laws, Bill Baroni’s strong-arming of members of the opposite political party and Leslie McCrae Dowless’ fraudulent activities related to absentee ballots illustrate circumstances where disenfranchisement would constitute appropriate punishment.
Bill Baroni, architect of New Jersey’s infamous “Bridgegate” scandal, began his 18-month prison sentence on April 9. After Fort Lee’s Mayor, a Democrat, refused to endorse Republican Chris Christie for re-election in the 2013 governor’s race, Baroni improperly used his position at the head of the Port Authority to punish the Mayor of Fort Lee by closing lanes crossing the George Washington Bridge and causing massive traffic jams.
As a result of Bridgegate, thousands of commuters and school children were stuck in gridlock traffic, and one person died when emergency personnel could not reach her. Baroni’s partisan actions were at the public’s direct expense. Having shown a lack of respect to democracy and the political process, Baroni should no longer have a say in who governs.
Similarly, in August 2018, Michael Cohen, President Trump’s former personal lawyer, pleaded guilty to eight criminal charges, two of which were related to violations of campaign finance law. Specifically, he was charged with making unlawful campaign contributions to silence women who planned to divulge details about their affairs with President Trump at a crucial juncture in the 2016 presidential campaign. As a consequence, Cohen was sentenced to three years in prison. Following his felony incarceration, he will no longer be able to vote. Here, the bar on voting fits Cohen’s crime.
Similarly, Leslie McCrae Dowless was indicted on Feb. 26, 2019, for organizing an illegal scheme to tamper with absentee ballots in North Carolina during the November 2018 elections. He, too, should lose his right to vote if he is convicted.
The right to vote is widely recognized as the foundational political right. Yet, millions of citizens have had that right taken because they committed crimes unrelated to voting. Now that the United States has taken a step towards broad criminal justice reform, it should eliminate blanket disenfranchisement for individuals convicted of felonies. Voting restrictions for felons should be proportional to the offense of which they were convicted.
