NY Court Rules Felons Have No Constitutional Right To Vote

by Sara Giboney

(IPS) NEW YORK -- A civil rights coalition is considering its options after a federal court dismissed a suit seeking voting rights for thousands of disenfranchised Black and Latino prisoners and parolees.

The case, Hayden v Pataki, sought voting rights for incarcerated convicted felons and those on parole. In a decision this month, the U.S. District Court for the Southern District in New York dismissed the claims, asserting that "the constitutionality of disenfranchising convicted felons has been firmly established," among other reasons.

An appeal is being considered.

"The issue of disenfranchisement has such an impact on the political power of African Americans that we can not ignore the issue," said Janai Nelson, assistant council for the NAACP Legal Defense Fund, one of the nation's leading African American advocacy groups. "We have to make a change to the voting practices that are in place now."

In the United States, 1.4 million African American men cannot vote in elections because of a felony conviction.

The Hayden decision is the second opinion issued by a federal court in New York State this year that cuts short a challenge to New York's felon disfranchisement statutes. In April, the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Second Circuit denied the Voting Rights Act claims in Muntaqim v. Coombe, a felon disfranchisement lawsuit that was appealed after being dismissed by the federal district court.

The latest suit against New York Gov. George Pataki was brought in 2000 by Joseph Hayden, an African-American, who filed the suit without a lawyer, while he was incarcerated. Hayden sought to restore voting rights for those jailed for a felony and others on parole for such crimes.

Representing Hayden was the New York-based NAACP Legal Defense Fund, Community Service Society of New York (CSS) and the Center for Law and Social Justice at Medgar Evers College.

The coalition argued that New York State's laws were originally intended to deny full rights to African Americans, and its continued application today disproportionately harmed Black and Latino communities and violated the Constitution, the Voting Rights Act, the Civil Rights Act, and international law.

In New York State and most states in the U.S, convicted felons lose their voting rights while they are incarcerated or on parole. Maine, Massachusetts, Utah and Vermont are the only states that allow incarcerated convicted felons to vote.

Hayden said that while in prison he began looking at the relationship between prisoners and the state and realized that everyone deserves to have a voice in public policy.

"We have to restore the right to vote for everyone," Hayden said. "We have to educate the public on the importance of the issue and galvanize into a force for change."

African Americans and Latinos collectively make up 87 percent of the population currently denied the right to vote. In New York, Blacks and Latinos are prosecuted, convicted, and sentenced to jail at rates substantially disproportionate to Whites.

Blacks comprise 16 percent of the state's population, but make up over 54 percent of the state's current prison population, and 50 percent of those on parole. Latinos comprise 15 percent of the state's population but are 27 percent of the prison population and 32 percent of those on parole.

By contrast, Whites comprise 62 percent of the state's population but only 16 percent of its prison population.

"Everyone deserves the right to have a voice in the political process," Hayden said. "In Maine, Vermont, Canada, Puerto Rico, South Africa and Israel convicted felons have voting rights. We need to make changes here."

The original case was expanded to represent three groups: Blacks and Latinos who are currently incarcerated for a felony conviction, Blacks and Latinos who are currently on parole for a felony conviction, and Blacks and Latino communities who are denied an equal opportunity in the political process because of the disproportionate disenfranchisement that threatens to reverse many of the achievements of the civil rights movement.

Juan Cartagena, general counsel for CSS, said the dismissal of the case was difficult to accept.

"This issue affects everyone," Cartagena said. "Even if someone hasn't been in prison, they have a relative or close friend that has been. This reaches everyone."

"Many major elections are decided by a very narrow margin," Cartagena continued. "If most people who are barred from voting because of a felony conviction were allowed to vote, the African-American and Latino communities from which they come could hold the balance of power."

"This is not over," said Lenore Neier, director of communications at CSS. "Right now we are analysing the situation to see how we can go about making changes in the system."

Cartagena said the legal team will be meeting with their clients to determine the next step in obtaining voting rights.

"Currently, the voting strength of the tens of thousands of African Americans and Latinos who are imprisoned for felonies has been nullified within New York State," Esmeralda Simmons, director of the Center for Law and Justice, said in a published article. "This has the effect of diluting the voting strength of Latino and African American communities and limiting the ability of the members of those communities to participate in the political process."

The organizations representing Hayden are part of a coalition of eight national groups called Right to Vote, which is challenging the laws through litigation and developing a communication strategy around the issue.

Demos, a New York-based organization involved in Right to Vote, is working on a campaign called Unlock the Block.

Currently in New York State, voting rights are restored to convicted felons after they complete parole, yet many are unaware of this fact.

"Some 250,000 convicted felons that have completed their time aren't aware that they can vote," said Timothy Rusch, communications director for Demos. "Not only is this about getting voting rights for convicted felons, it's about engaging them in education about voting."