ABSTRACT
Criminal disenfranchisement laws restrict the voting rights of criminal offenders. In those states that prohibit voting by convicts, criminal offenders are the only US adults legally barred from the polls. Criminal disenfranchisement policies-sometimes called "felony disenfranchisement" laws, because felony conviction is the most common cutoff point-have deep roots in ancient and medieval Western thought and practice, but have been sharply criticized in recent decades by advocates of voting rights, better government, and criminal justice reform. Disenfranchisement laws vary so widely across states that the Department of Justice has described current law as "a national crazy- quilt of disqualifications and restoration procedures." The United States is the only democracy that indefinitely bars so many offenders from voting, and it may be the only country with such sweeping disenfranchisement policies. Many modern proponents of disenfranchisement define the sanction as a punishment and contend that barring convicts from voting is an effective penalty.
