A study by sociologists was featured in a December 14, 2003, New York Times article, "2003: The 3rd Annual Year in Ideas; Give Felons the Vote." Sana Butler reported that more than 4.6 million Americans—or 2 percent of the voting-age population—are barred from voting because of a criminal record. Because more than 60 percent of the prison population is black or Latino, the voting power of these groups is disproportionately diluted." The study, by sociologists Christopher Uggen, University Minnesota, and Jeff Manza, Northwestern University, and published in the December 2002 American Sociological Review, found that if current and former felons had been allowed to vote, the outcome of as many as seven U.S. Senate races and one presidential election since 1978 might have been altered. Felon disenfranchisement laws, combined with high rates of criminal punishment in the United States, sometimes play a decisive role in elections.

To purchase the New York Times article, click here. For more information on the Uggen and Manza ASR article, read the ASA press release sent to the New York Times.