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Disenfranchisement or disfranchisement is the revocation of, or failure to grant, the right of suffrage (the right to vote) to a person or group of people. Disenfranchisement may occur explicitly through law, or implicitly through means such as intimidation. Image File history File links Nuvola_apps_browser. ...

Disenfranchisement due to criminal conviction

In the USA

Many countries and many U.S. states intentionally disenfranchise people based on criminal conviction by law. For many jurisdictions that do, usually a person is disenfranchised after being sentenced to a penalty above some limit—for example, 6 months—for only as long as he or she is serving the sentence. A state of the United States is any one of the fifty subnational entities referred to as a state (although four officially favor the term commonwealth) which, along with the District of Columbia, under the provisions of the United States Constitution form the United States of America. ...

In 13 U.S. states, persons convicted of a felony—that is, a crime punishable with a year's imprisonment or more—are denied the vote only while serving sentence in a state prison. Texas has a similar law, but extends the disenfranchisement period two years after release from custody. A felony, in many common law legal systems, is the term for a very serious crime, whereas misdemeanors are considered to be less serious offenses. ... Official language(s) See: Languages of Texas Capital Austin Largest city Houston Area  Ranked 2nd  - Total 268,581 sq mi (695,622 km²)  - Width 773 miles (1,244 km)  - Length 790 miles (1,270 km)  - % water 2. ...

One felony conviction results in perpetual disenfranchisement in 13 other U.S. states, and in Arizona and Maryland two convictions have the same consequence. In addition to these 15 states and Texas, 13 others also disenfranchise persons who are on probation for a felony but were not sentenced to prison time. All of these plus three more states (or 32 in all) disqualify those on parole from voting. Official language(s) English Capital Phoenix Largest city Phoenix Area  Ranked 6th  - Total 113,998 sq mi (295,254 km²)  - Width 310 miles (500 km)  - Length 400 miles (645 km)  - % water 0. ... Official language(s) None (English, de-facto) Capital Annapolis Largest city Baltimore Area  Ranked 42nd  - Total 12,417 sq mi (32,160 km²)  - Width 90 miles (145 km)  - Length 249 miles (400 km)  - % water 21  - Latitude 37°53N to 39°43N  - Longitude 75°4W to 79°33... Probation is the suspension of a prison or jail sentence - the criminal who is on probation has been convicted of a crime, but instead of serving prison time, has been found by the Court to be amenable to probation and will be returned to the community for a period in... Parole can have different meanings depending on the context. ...

Some states consider dishonorable discharge a felony conviction and disenfranchise those affected. The examples and perspective in this article or section may not represent a worldwide view. ...

Two states—Maine and Vermont—allow prison inmates to vote unless disenfranchisement is meted out as a separate punishment. ^[1] This article does not cite its references or sources. ... Official language(s) None Capital Montpelier Largest city Burlington Area  Ranked 43rd  - Total 9,620 sq mi (24,923 km²)  - Width 80 miles (130 km)  - Length 160 miles (260 km)  - % water 3. ...

Those affected are usually prohibited from voting in federal elections as well, even though their convictions were at the state level for state crimes, not federal crimes. This means that states with permanent disenfranchisement prevent ex-convicts from ever voting in federal elections, even though ex-convicts in other states convicted of identical crimes may be allowed to vote in such elections.

As of 2005 there were at least two cases in the U.S. courts challenging disenfranchisement of felons: Locke v. Farrakhan in Washington State and Hayden v. Pataki in New York. The NAACP LDF was involved in both cases. The NAACP Legal Defense and Educational Fund, Inc. ...

In the UK

In the United Kingdom, all convicts are denied the right to vote while in prison. This is, however, under review, following an October 2005 ruling of the European Court of Human Rights that a blanket ban is disproportionate. The review is still underway, but Lord Falconer of Thoroton, the Secretary of State for Constitutional Affairs has stated that it may result in some, but not all, prisoners being able to vote. ^[2] 2005 (MMV) was a common year starting on Saturday of the Gregorian calendar. ... European Court of Human Rights building in Strasbourg The European Court of Human Rights (ECtHR), often referred to informally as the Strasbourg Court, was created to systematise the hearing of human rights complaints against States Parties to the Convention for the Protection of Human Rights and Fundamental Freedoms, adopted by... Charles Leslie Falconer, Baron Falconer of Thoroton, PC (born November 19, 1951), is a British lawyer and Labour Party politician. ... The Secretary of State for Constitutional Affairs is a United Kingdom cabinet position. ...

In Germany

In Germany, all convicts are allowed to vote while in prison unless the loss of the right to vote is part of the sentence; courts can only hand out this sentence for specific "political" crimes (treason, high treason, electoral fraud, intimidation of voters etc) and for a duration of two to five years.^[3] All convicts sentenced to at least one year in prison also automatically lose the right to be elected in public elections for a duration of five years, and lose all positions they held as a result of such elections. For other uses, see Treason (disambiguation). ... Under English, and later British law, high treason is the crime of disloyalty to the Sovereign. ... Electoral fraud is the deliberate intentional interference with the process of an election. ...

In other countries

In some countries, such as China, Portugal and Israel, disenfranchisement due to criminal conviction is an exception, meted out separately or alone. This is usually imposed on a person convicted of a crime against the state (see civil death) or one related to election or public office. Civil death is a term that refers to the loss of all or almost all civil rights by a person due to a conviction for a felony or due to an act by the government of a country that results in the loss of civil rights. ...

Disenfranchisement due to criminal conviction (otherwise than for electoral offences) is discussed extensively in the website of the Sentencing Project,^[4] an organization concerned with reducing prison sentences and ameliorating some of the negative effects of incarceration. Although the information provided by this organization is biased against various practices, the website provides a wealth of statistical data that reflects data available from organizations with opposing views, and from the United States government and various state governments. The Sentencing Project promotes more effective and humane alternatives to prison for criminal offenders. ...

Disenfranchisement of other groups

Another example is the disenfranchisement of entire groups of people, such as women, various racial, ethnic or religious minorities depending on the country, or members of some political groups. This has led to warfare, as in the case of the American Revolutionary War (the cry "No taxation without representation" conveys this message). This is a good example of the intentional disenfranchisement of a group of people (British colonists in America) by the government in Britain. Similarly, the US citizens of Puerto Rico are subjected to many U.S. laws and in the past, have been conscripted to fight in US wars, but they have no Congressional representation or vote in presidential elections, although they are not subject to U.S. income tax laws. Image of a woman on the Pioneer plaque sent to outer space. ... Combatants American Revolutionaries, France, The Netherlands, Spain, American Indians Great Britain, German mercenaries, Loyalists, American Indians Canadian Indians Commanders George Washington, Comte de Rochambeau, Nathanael Greene, Bernardo de Gálvez Sir William Howe, Sir Henry Clinton, Lord Cornwallis (more commanders) The American Revolutionary War (1775–1783), also known as the... No taxation without representation was a rallying cry of the American Revolutionary War. ... United States is the current Good Article Collaboration of the week! Please help to improve this article to the highest of standards. ...

Voters in the District of Columbia, the U.S. capital, are subject to a partial disenfranchisement: they are not represented in Congress. Until the passage of the Twenty-Third Amendment in 1961, they did not get to vote in presidential elections. Prior to the District of Columbia Home Rule Act in 1973, they did not elect their own mayor. ... Seal of the U.S. Congress. ... Amendment XXIII was the twenty-third Amendment to the United States Constitution which permits the District of Columbia to choose Electors for President and Vice President. ... The District of Columbia Home Rule Act is an act of theU.S. Congress passed in 1973. ...

An example of unintentional disenfranchisement of a group of people is expounded by supporters of the U.S. Electoral College. Briefly, electoral college supporters feel that strict majority vote would disenfranchise the mostly rural American West, by denying them the ability to ever influence an election due to their small numbers. This would be unintentional disenfranchisement as it is an effect of the change, not a direct goal of the change in voting law. The United States Electoral College is the electoral college that chooses the President and Vice President of the United States at the conclusion of each Presidential election. ...

In proportional representation systems which use election thresholds, parties which fail to meet the specified thresholds often claim that their supporters have been disenfranchised since their votes do not translate into any legislative seats, and thus effectively do not count. Proportional representation (sometimes referred to as full representation, or PR), is an electoral system delivering a close match between the percentage of votes that the political parties obtain in elections and the percentage of seats they receive in legislative assemblies. ... In party-list proportional representation systems, an election threshold is a clause that stipulates that a party must receive a minimum percentage of votes, either nationally or within a particular district, to get any seats in the parliament. ...

Notes

1. ^ "Election Readiness…"
2. ^ Convicts 'will not all get vote', BBC News, October 6, 2005, accessed December 9 2005
3. ^ (German) §45 StGB, accessed July 28, 2006
4. ^ SentencingProject.org

The current BBC News logo BBC News and Current Affairs is a major arm of the BBC responsible for the corporations newsgathering and production of news programmes on BBC television, radio and online. ... October 6 is the 279th day of the year (280th in leap years). ... 2005 (MMV) was a common year starting on Saturday of the Gregorian calendar. ... December 9 is the 343rd day (344th in leap years) of the year in the Gregorian calendar. ... The Strafgesetzbuch is the German criminal code of justice. ... July 28 is the 209th day (210th in leap years) of the year in the Gregorian Calendar, with 156 days remaining. ... 2006 (MMVI) is a common year starting on Sunday of the Gregorian calendar. ...

See also

Look up Disfranchisement in
Wiktionary, the free dictionary.

• Lishenets (disenfranchised in Soviet Union)

Wikipedia does not have an article with this exact name. ... Wiktionary is a Wikimedia Foundation project intended to be a free wiki dictionary (hence: Wiktionary) (including thesaurus and lexicon) in every language. ... Lishenets (Russian: лишенец), literally translated as disenfranchised, was a person stripped of the right of voting in the Soviet Union of 1918 — 1936. ...

References

• "Election Readiness: It Is Never Too Late for Transparency", October 2004, from Fair Election International (FEI), a project of Global Exchange, quoted in part in AfricaFocus Bulletin Oct 26, 2004