Factors of felon disfranchisement in the United States

There is no doubt that participating in election process is a very basic right for citizens living in democratic society regardless of their background, race, and socio-economic status. In the U.S., states disfranchise a large number of citizens from election process because of their felony convictions. The states have different laws and policy implementations pertaining to felon disfranchisement. It is suggested that these policy differences result from the states’ different characteristics such as political cultures, demographic features, and crime rates. Using an interdisciplinary approach to this policy issue, this study aims to empirically investigate the relationship between felon disfranchisement and states attributes such as political culture and criminal justice facts. First, the results of this study suggest that traditionalistic southern states have a higher rate of disfranchisement than other states, which supports the assumption that political culture has impact on felon disfranchisement. Second, political climate of a region is likely to affect disfranchisement of people more than criminal justice facts