Criminal Disenfranchisement in State Constitutions: A Marker of Exclusion, Punitiveness, and Fragile Citizenship

Many states prominently include criminal disenfranchisement provisions in their constitutions, which powerfully, and more permanently than state laws, convey the states’ values. These provisions also underscore the ease with which the protected status of citizenship, most pronounced in the right to vote, can be lost. Using the debate in Virginia over how to change the state’s constitution to limit disenfranchisement as a starting point, this Article highlights the need for inclusive voting provisions in state constitutions to reflect a broad conception of citizenship rights and the expansion of the franchise over the last century. Reform demands must be seen in the context of a racially skewed, vast, and punitive criminal justice system, as well as ongoing efforts to suppress the right to vote.