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Study Finds 40K People In Wisconsin Are Barred From Voting Due To Criminal Records

Bills To Grant Felons Voting Rights After They Leave Prison Stalled In Committee During Last Legislative Session

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Photo: J.P. Davidson (CC-BY).

A new national study estimates that more than 5.8 million people are barred from voting because of their criminal records, while Wisconsin’s felon voting prohibition affects more than 40,000 people.

The study by the Washington, D.C.-based Sentencing Project shows Wisconsin is one of 31 states where convicted felons can’t vote un til they’re off parole or probation. Wisconsin ranks 10th in the percentage of black people affected by such laws.

A bill sponsored by state Rep. Evan Goyke, D-Milwaukee, last year would have granted voting rates to felon as soon as they leave prison. Goyke said the current law serves no legitimate criminal justice purpose.

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“Is it making us safer? Is it an adequate form of punishment? Does it deter crime? And the answer to all those is, I think, no,” said Goyke.

Goyke’s bill never made it out of committee, but he believes the Legislature will eventually pass it. He said there’s at least anecdotal evidence that granting voting rights to people when they leave prison is actually an incentive for them to become law-abiding citizens.

“I have heard from individuals that have been incarcerated that they personally believe that it would be a positive step to assimilating back into a crime free lifestyle,” said Goyke.

Supporters of current law say parole is a way for offenders to earn back their right to vote.

Two of Wisconsin’s neighboring states Michigan and Illinois already allow felons to vote when their prison sentence is completed. Reformers in Minnesota are pushing to change their state law, which is currently similar to Wisconsin’s.