Disenfranchising refers to the removal of the ability to vote from a person or group of people.
An example of intentional, legal disenfranchisement of individuals is how some U.S. states deny the ability to vote to a convicted felon. Specifically, 13 states disenfranchise all convicted felons for life; Texas bars ex-felons from voting until two years after they are released from custody, and two other states (Arizona and Maryland) permanently disenfranchise two-time convicted felons. In addition to these 16 states, 13 others also ban persons who are on probation for a felony but were not sentenced to prison time from the suffrage, and these plus three more states (or 32 in all) disqualify those on parole from voting. Four states - Maine, Massachusetts, Utah and Vermont - actually allow prisoners to vote while in custody, and 14 exclude only persons who are presently serving time in a state prison.
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 can lead 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.
Another form of disenfranchisement is experienced by voters in the District of Columbia, who have voted for the President since the 23rd Amendment to the Constitution in 1961. The District is still disenfranchised from having representation in Congress.
An example of unintentional disenfranchisement of a group of people is expounded by supporters of the U.S. Electoral College. Briefly, 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.
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.
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 is a good example of the intentional disenfranchisement of a group of people (British colonists in America) by the government in Britain.
While felony disenfranchisement laws should be of concern in any democracy, the scale of their impact in the United States is unparalleled: an estimated 3.9 million U.S. citizens are disenfranchised, including over one million who have fully completed their sentences.
That so many people are disenfranchised is an unintended consequence of harsh criminal justice policies that have increased the number of people sent to prison and the length of their sentences, despite a falling crime rate.
As a result of the considerable variation among the states, disenfranchisement laws form a national “crazyquilt.”20 Within the federal structure of the U.S. it may be appropriate that each state determine voting qualifications for local and state offices.
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