Felon Disenfranchisement: A Historical Weapon for Racial Discrimination

By: Ameera Hamadeh

Edited by: Jack Pacconi and Haley Kleinman

On Monday, January 27th, 2025, The Supreme Court of the United States declined to hear a challenge to Mississippi's lifetime ban on voting for individuals who have previously committed a felony. [1] SCOTUS justices turned away an appeal requested from a lower court’s decision to reject a lawsuit against the ban. The appeal argued that the provision of the Mississippi Constitution which prevents a felon from voting after their sentence is completed violates the U.S. Constitution's 8th and 14th Amendments, sections which respectively bar cruel and unusual punishments and ensure equal protection under the law. [2]

The case had been previously tried in 2023 by Black Mississippi residents who lost their voting privileges indefinitely after being convicted of felonies listed in section 241 of the Mississippi Constitution. [3] Within the state of Mississippi, a felony can range from convicted murder or rape to minor cases of theft; the voting restrictions apply to the citizens no matter the severity or context of their crime. [4] An individual may restore their voting rights by receiving a pardon from their governor or permission from two-thirds of the State Congress; however, very few citizens have actually obtained this restoration in the past several years. [5]

Felony disenfranchisement within the United States has a complicated history deeply rooted in racial discrimination. Following the era of Reconstruction after the Civil War, leaders of the Southern states created barriers to civic participation for Black people who recently gained equal voting rights. The restrictions placed on felon’s ability to vote, specifically in the state of Mississippi, trace back to the implementation of Jim Crow laws within state legislation. [6] Section 241 of Mississippi’s constitution, one which permanently bars felons from voting, was amended in 1890 with the goal of adding crimes more commonly committed by Black citizens to the document. Supporters of this amendment openly admitted that they aimed to “keep Black men away from the ballot box.” [7] The provision was amended again in 1950, to remove the act of burglary, and in 1968, to add murder and rape. The addition of these crimes had been historically delayed on the premise that they were “not considered crimes a black person was prone to commit,” and therefore, did not have merit in disenfranchising eligible black voters. [8]

The effects of the provision continue to disproportionately target Black citizens of Mississippi today, a population that represents “nearly 60% of individuals convicted of disenfranchising felony offenses, but make up approximately 37% of the state’s population.” [9] Of the nationwide African American population, 4.5% is disenfranchised in comparison to that of the non-African American population being only 1.3%. [10] In the 2024 Presidential Election, an estimated 4 million Americans were ineligible to vote due to felony conviction laws, with an overwhelming majority of this population being previously eligible citizens of color. [11]

The recent order from SCOTUS is not the only time justices refused to consider the issue of felony voting rights in Mississippi. In June of 2023, the Court refused to hear a similar case challenging the same provision of Section 241 with respect to the context of the Equal Protection Clause of the 14th Amendment. The rejection of this case resulted in a dissent from Justices Ketanji Brown Jackson and Sonia Sotomayor, the former noting that the Court had “missed yet another opportunity to learn from its mistakes.” [12]

Ultimately, the systemic preservation of  voting rights restrictions for convicted felons works to further racial injustice within predominantly white regions of the United States. As the highest court of the land, it is imperative that SCOTUS works to correct these injustices by ensuring equal protection and barring cruel and unusual punishment for all citizens, as promised in the US Constitution.

Notes:

1. Chung, Andrew. “US Supreme Court Rejects Challenge to Mississippi Lifetime Ban on Voting by Felons.” Reuters.com, January 25, 2025. https://www.reuters.com/legal/us-supreme-court-rejects-challenge-mississippi-lifetime-ban-voting-by-felons-2025-01-27/.

2. Ibid. 

3. Golde, Kalvis. “Mississippi’s Permanent Felony Voting Ban Returns to the Court.” scotusblog.com, January 25, 2025.. https://www.scotusblog.com/2025/01/mississippis-permanent-felony-voting-ban-returns-to-the-court/.

4. ncsl.org. “Felon Voting Rights,” October 18, 2024. https://www.ncsl.org/elections-and-campaigns/felon-voting-rights.

5. Sherman, Mark. “Supreme Court Leaves in Place Mississippi’s Voting Ban for People Convicted of Some Crimes.” apnews.com, January 27, 2025. https://apnews.com/article/supreme-court-voting-rights-mississippi-felon-disenfranchisement-66e42dfdc5106d40ed5fcb6a62ed06af.

6. Chung, Andrew. “US Supreme Court Rejects Challenge to Mississippi Lifetime Ban on Voting by Felons.” Reuters.com, January 25, 2025. https://www.reuters.com/legal/us-supreme-court-rejects-challenge-mississippi-lifetime-ban-voting-by-felons-2025-01-27/.

7. Golde, Kalvis. “Mississippi’s Permanent Felony Voting Ban Returns to the Court.” scotusblog.com, January 25, 2025. https://www.scotusblog.com/2025/01/mississippis-permanent-felony-voting-ban-returns-to-the-court/.

8. Berry, Patrick. “Court Strikes Down Mississippi’s Lifetime Felony Voting Ban.” brennancenter.org, July 18, 2024. https://www.brennancenter.org/our-work/analysis-opinion/court-strikes-down-mississippis-lifetime-felony-voting-ban.

9. Selzer, Rachel. “SCOTUS Declines to Review Mississippi’s Jim Crow-Era Felony Disenfranchisement Law.” democracydocket.com, January 27, 2025. https://www.democracydocket.com/news-alerts/scotus-declines-to-review-mississippis-jim-crow-era-felony-disenfranchisement-law/.

10. Uggen, Christopher, Ryan Larson, Sarah Shannon, Robert Stewart, and Molly Hauf. “Locked Out 2024: Four Million Denied Voting Rights Due to a Felony Conviction.” sentencingproject.org, October 10, 2024. https://www.sentencingproject.org/reports/locked-out-2024-four-million-denied-voting-rights-due-to-a-felony-conviction/.

11. Ibid.

12. Selzer, Rachel. “SCOTUS Declines to Review Mississippi’s Jim Crow-Era Felony Disenfranchisement Law.” democracydocket.com, January 27, 2025. https://www.democracydocket.com/news-alerts/scotus-declines-to-review-mississippis-jim-crow-era-felony-disenfranchisement-law/.

Bibliography:

Berry, Patrick. “Court Strikes Down Mississippi’s Lifetime Felony Voting Ban.” brennancenter.org, July 18, 2024. https://www.brennancenter.org/our-work/analysis-opinion/court-strikes-down-mississippis-lifetime-felony-voting-ban.

Chung, Andrew. “US Supreme Court Rejects Challenge to Mississippi Lifetime Ban on Voting by Felons.” Reuters.com, January 25, 2025. https://www.reuters.com/legal/us-supreme-court-rejects-challenge-mississippi-lifetime-ban-voting-by-felons-2025-01-27/.ncsl.org. “Felon Voting Rights,” October 18, 2024. https://www.ncsl.org/elections-and-campaigns/felon-voting-rights.

Golde, Kalvis. “Mississippi’s Permanent Felony Voting Ban Returns to the Court.” scotusblog.com, January 25, 2025. https://www.scotusblog.com/2025/01/mississippis-permanent-felony-voting-ban-returns-to-the-court/.

Selzer, Rachel. “SCOTUS Declines to Review Mississippi’s Jim Crow-Era Felony Disenfranchisement Law.” democracydocket.com, January 27, 2025. https://www.democracydocket.com/news-alerts/scotus-declines-to-review-mississippis-jim-crow-era-felony-disenfranchisement-law/.

Sherman, Mark. “Supreme Court Leaves in Place Mississippi’s Voting Ban for People Convicted of Some Crimes.” apnews.com, January 27, 2025. https://apnews.com/article/supreme-court-voting-rights-mississippi-felon-disenfranchisement-66e42dfdc5106d40ed5fcb6a62ed06af.

Uggen, Christopher, Ryan Larson, Sarah Shannon, Robert Stewart, and Molly Hauf. “Locked Out 2024: Four Million Denied Voting Rights Due to a Felony Conviction.” sentencingproject.org, October 10, 2024. https://www.sentencingproject.org/reports/locked-out-2024-four-million-denied-voting-rights-due-to-a-felony-conviction/.