Private: Spencer Overton on Felony Disenfranchisement

At a time when the nation waits for finality in the Virginia Senate election, leading voting rights expert and GW Law Professor Spencer Overton discusses the role of felony disenfranchisement on elections in that state:

For example, in Virginia, almost 300,000 Americans who have completely served their time (including probation and parole) are disenfranchised (up from 243,000 in 2000). VA is alone with FL, KY, and Armenia as the only democracies in the world that disenfranchise all categories of former felons for life, even after they have served their time (a burdensome restoration process results in voting privileges for less than 2% of these individuals). Eighty percent of Americans believe that people who have served their time should be able to vote. Virginia legislative history suggests that one purpose of the disenfranchisement law was to suppress the black vote.

(UPDATE: Professor Overton has also suggested a series of reasons why a potential recount in Virginia is unlikely to produce a different outcome than that forecast by news outlets.)

Democracy and Elections