Date of Conferral

2021

Degree

Ph.D.

School

Criminal Justice

Advisor

Clarence Williamson

Abstract

The tradition of disenfranchising those convicted in the United States of felony crimes has profound historical racial roots that have persisted for decades in the United States. The persistent practice of felon disenfranchisement in the 21st century challenges the essence of democracy, with over six million people disenfranchised. The need for major reform efforts to restore voting rights to ex-felons has been exposed due to this issue. The literature revealed no studies have been undertaken regarding this phenomenon in terms of those directly affected by it. Therefore, the purpose of this qualitative phenomenological study was to understand the effect of felon disenfranchisement from the perspectives of African American male ex-felons. The theoretical framework used for this study was the labeling theory. Interview data were obtained from 15 African American male ex-felons who had direct experiences with felon disenfranchisement. Participants were recruited using a nonpurposeful snowball sampling technique. Moustakas’ modified Stevick-Colaizzi-Keen’s data analysis led to the identification of key themes among participants. The themes were rejection, politics, obstacles, cultural values, lack of knowledge, participation, inclusion, lack of self-worth, alienism, suppression, and democracy. Results showed the destructive effects of felon disenfranchisement extending beyond political enslavement. Through adopting the Maine and Vermont model of never taking a person’s right to vote away, positive social change could result in terms of abolishing felon disenfranchisement practices and restoring ex-felons’ voting rights.

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