A new report by The Sentencing Project, ​“The Vanishing Black Electorate: Felony Disenfranchisement in Atlanta, Georgia,” exam­ines the racial effects of depriv­ing cit­i­zens of vot­ing rights because of crim­i­nal con­vic­tions. The report reveals sharp dis­par­i­ties in vot­ing eli­gi­bil­i­ty by race and neigh­bor­hood. Among the report’s key find­ings are the fol­low­ing:

  • One out of every sev­en African American males in Atlanta is dis­en­fran­chised as a result of a felony conviction;
  • One-third of the black male dis­en­fran­chise­ment rate in Georgia is a result of drug offense convictions;
  • Black males in Atlanta are reg­is­tered to vote at an 11% low­er rate than oth­er demo­graph­ic groups, but more than two-thirds of this dif­fer­en­tial is a result of high rate of disenfranchisement.
The report also con­tains a series of rec­om­men­da­tions for change in crim­i­nal jus­tice pol­i­cy and dis­en­fran­chise­ment prac­tices that would close the racial gap in vot­er reg­is­tra­tion and result in greater elec­toral par­tic­i­pa­tion. (“The Vanishing Black Electorate: Felony Disenfranchisement in Atlanta, Georgia,” The Sentencing Project, September 2004; Washington Post, Sept. 23, 2004) In many cas­es, dis­en­fran­chise­ment can also affect jury com­po­si­tion in cap­i­tal cas­es. See Resources.
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