Let All Georgians Vote

Voting in the U.S. allows citizens to voice their concerns by electing officials who defend their rights. Although felons make up a sizable population in the U.S., some states, including Georgia, limit their right to vote. 

Felon disenfranchisement has a substantial impact on the Black community since, in the South, one in five Black individuals cannot vote because of felon status. With many elections being close races, allowing felons to vote could alter the election results. 

Another important aspect to note is that some states, including Georgia, do not just disenfranchise people in prison but also individuals on parole or probation. An estimated 4.4 million individuals in prison, on probation or parole are ineligible to vote across the United States. Felon disenfranchisement is an institutional barrier that prevents 266,00 Georgians from voting. While some of Georgia’s felons committed violent crimes that caused them to be put in prison for life, many of them are non-violent and currently on parole or probation. 

The U.S. legal system disproportionately affects minorities, who often align with the Democratic Party. While one can argue that felons should not be allowed to vote since they broke the law, since the U.S. justice system is not always fair, it can disadvantage communities that have a sizable part of their population as felons. Felon disenfranchisement is a legal and institutional barrier that bans part of the U.S. electorate from voicing their concerns.

In Georgia, individuals “convicted of a felony criminal offense lose their right to vote until the completion of their sentence and after their release while still on probation or parole, and until they have paid all associated fees.” Under this rule, citizens released after serving their jail time must perform their citizen duties, such as paying taxes, but they are not granted the right to vote. 

This includes recent law school graduate Luci Harrell, who was denied the right to vote based on her past conviction until she was done with parole. In an interview, she said it was frustrating to be “required by the federal government to pay taxes and pay student loans.” Stories like Harrell’s emphasize how stripping voting rights to individuals on parole and probation takes away their fundamental right to choose to vote.

To solve this issue, Georgia must automatically restore voting rights for individuals on parole or probation. Twenty-three states restore rights automatically after a person is released from incarceration, with Georgia not being one of them. 

Georgia law only restores but does not automatically re-register those eligible to vote after being “off the paper”—completed incarceration, parole, and felony probation. After losing the right to vote, convicted felons may feel discouraged when they have to re-register while they are also trying to create a life post-sentence. Georgia does not represent its population of convicted felons, yet it expects them to be law-abiding citizens. 

Another swing state, Michigan, automatically restores voting rights following incarnations with the Governor signing HB 4983 in 2023.  With this new law in place, felons can vote the day they are released rather than having to deal with the hassle of re-registering or waiting for parole or probation to be completed. Michigan is not alone in signing state bills into law to restore voting rights to parole citizens; in 2021, Connecticut with SB 1202, New York with SB 830 and Washington with HB 1078 all restored the right to vote to those on parole.

Felon disenfranchisement has existed in Georgia since the nineteenth century when the moral turpitude provision was added to the state constitution. This vague wording has prevented all convicted felons who have not completed sentences from voting. 

One possible solution to make the standard clear across Georgia is to follow Alabama’s 2017 “Felony Voter Disqualification Act,” which codifies a list of 46 felonies that result in the loss of the right to vote. It is unjust to have vague wording strip Georgians of voting rights.

Restricting the right to vote for felon offenders is wrong and must be addressed by the Georgia General Assembly. It is unjust for those released from incarceration to be still barred from voting. 

Olivia Kosobud is a third-year student at the University of Georgia studying International Affairs and Political Science. She is a member of the voting rights group.