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LOS ANGELES — Over two million Americans with felony convictions may be unaware they have regained their right to vote, according to a recent study led by researchers at the University of California, Los Angeles.
The results, published in the October issue of Punishment and Society, underscore the persistent obstacles that individuals with felony records encounter when attempting to exercise their voting rights, even though eligibility requirements have been broadened in numerous states.
UCLA sociology professor Naomi Sugie and colleagues from UC Irvine, UC Berkeley School of Law, and Stanford University analyzed voting obstacles for this population during the November 2022 election. The research team is now monitoring a large-scale text messaging campaign aimed at informing and mobilizing eligible voters with felony convictions ahead of the 2024 election.
"This is about righting a wrong," Sugie said. "The system of mass incarceration and current and historical legacies of voter suppression have excluded millions of people. The laws have changed, and people need to know that."
Since 1997, 26 states and the District of Columbia have amended their laws to increase the eligibility of individuals with felony convictions to vote, as per The Sentencing Project. The forthcoming election will be the first time certain individuals with felony records are eligible to vote in numerous states, regardless of their political affiliation.
As part of the Project VOICES (Voter Outreach In Communities Experiencing System-Involvement) study, the research team collaborated with multistate organizations, including the Alliance for Safety and Justice and Time Done, to conduct interviews and focus groups. Before the 2022 election, they implemented a text message-based outreach that reached more than 15,000 individuals, resulting in a 12% response rate.
The team aims to expand its outreach to 30,000 system-impacted individuals in seven states this election year: California, Michigan, Ohio, Pennsylvania, Texas, Florida, and Georgia. In the weeks preceding the election, seven to eight text messages are sent to inform individuals of their rights and to answer concerns regarding the voting process.
The investigation identified numerous obstacles that impede the exercise of voting rights by eligible voters who have been convicted of felonies. These include a lack of information about voting rights during incarceration or upon release, fear of criminal penalties for attempting to vote, misinformation, distrust of the government, and confusion about eligibility.
One interviewee, identified by the pseudonym Delia, a 40-year-old Hispanic woman from Texas, said, "It's very confusing on purpose. Every unit I went to, the narrative is, 'You got a felony now. You're never going to get a job, and you're never going to vote.' And so you believe that."
The researchers found that community organizations play a crucial role in addressing these barriers. Reentry and support networks, legal service providers, and religious groups prioritize clearing up misconceptions about voter eligibility through direct outreach and assisting with registration and reminders.
These organizations also emphasize the potential impact that system-impacted individuals can have on elections and public policy. Javier, a 51-year-old Black Puerto Rican man interviewed for the study, learned about the importance of voting from the organization Building Freedom Ohio.
"Whether it's because we're returning citizens, whether it's because we're African American or Hispanic, they don't want us to vote because our votes are powerful," Javier said. "And so, when somebody is trying to take your voice and take your vote, even if you don't see the importance of it at the time, you need to look at why somebody's trying to take it, because there is some importance in that."
"Your vote is your voice," Javier said.
The study's authors stress that limiting access to voting also restricts access to justice. Sugie emphasized that disenfranchisement disproportionately affects poor and minority communities, which are already overrepresented in the criminal legal system.
"It's important that our political systems make sure that their voices and concerns are heard, too," Sugie said.
