5.4 million Americans--1 in every 40 voting age adults-- are denied the right to participate in democratic elections because of a past or current felony conviction. In several American states, 1 in 4 black men cannot vote due to a felony conviction. In a country that prides itself on universal suffrage, how did the United States come to deny a voice to such a large percentage of its citizenry? What are the consequences of large-scale disenfranchisement--both for election outcomes, and for public policy more generally? Locked Out exposes one of the most important, yet little known, threats to the health of American democracy today. It reveals the centrality of racial factors in the origins of these laws, and their impact on politics today. Marshalling the first real empirical evidence on the issue to make a case for reform, the authors' path-breaking analysis will inform all future policy and political debates on the laws governing the political rights of criminals.
Author(s): Jeff Manza, Christopher Uggen
Year: 2006
Language: English
Pages: 384
0195149327......Page 1
Contents......Page 16
Introduction......Page 20
1 Foundations......Page 28
2 The Racial Origins of Felon Disenfranchisement with Angela Behrens......Page 58
3 The Disenfranchised Population......Page 86
4 The Contemporary Disenfranchisement Regime......Page 112
5 Political Attitudes, Voting, and Criminal Behavior......Page 130
6 Disenfranchisement and Civic Reintegration: Felons Speak Out with Angela Behrens......Page 154
7 The Impact of Disenfranchisement on Political Participation......Page 182
8 A Threat to Democracy?......Page 198
9 Public Opinion and Felon Disenfranchisement with Clem Brooks......Page 222
10 Unlocking the Vote......Page 238
Appendix......Page 252
Notes......Page 308
C......Page 370
F......Page 371
M......Page 373
R......Page 374
S......Page 375
Z......Page 376
