Our vote is our voice, and voting fosters a sense of belonging and empowerment in our society. But in Maryland, people who are serving a felony sentence are silenced because they cannot vote while they are incarcerated. The freedom to vote should be extended to all of us, regardless of incarceration status, because voting is the highest form of civic engagement. Maryland must pass the Voting Rights for All Act to ensure that our fellow Marylanders who are incarcerated can vote.
Denying the vote to people who are incarcerated disconnects them from civic life and strips them of their dignity. It signifies that they are not worthy of engaging in or contributing to collective civic discourse. A client of the Racial Justice and the Law Clinic at the University of Maryland Francis King Carey School of Law who is currently incarcerated shared that people serving long sentences are often forgotten by society. The client expressed that if the Voting Rights for All Act passes, thousands of people incarcerated for felony convictions in Maryland could amplify their voices beyond prison walls and use their lived experiences to vote on policies that influence the trajectory of society.
Some argue that those who break the law should not have the right to elect the people who make the law. This argument fails to recognize that incarcerated individuals are still members of our community, subjected to the same laws as nonincarcerated people, counted in the census, and affected by decisions made at the local, state, and federal levels. The only distinction between incarcerated and nonincarcerated people is legal status, not humanity, dignity, or their aptitude for civic engagement. Stripping voting rights from those who are incarcerated sends a damaging signal that their perspectives are irrelevant.
Stripping voting rights from those who are incarcerated sends a damaging signal that their perspectives are irrelevant.
Notably, Black Marylanders are disproportionately impacted by prison disenfranchisement. Maryland incarcerates the highest percentage of Black people in the United States: Seventy-two percent of Maryland’s incarcerated population is Black, which is more than double Maryland’s overall Black population. Black residents are therefore more than five times more likely than white residents to lose their ability to vote. Maryland must do better.
It’s time for Maryland to join Maine, Vermont, the District of Columbia, and the Commonwealth of Puerto Rico in preserving the right to vote for all individuals who are incarcerated.
A vibrant democracy depends on robust civic participation that encapsulates our individual and collective voices. Democracy should not stop at prison gates. Regardless of our individual circumstances, we should all have a say in the affairs of our communities. Passing the Voting Rights for All Act would allow Maryland to expand not only democratic principles, but also extend dignity and decency to incarcerated people.
Erika Lewis and Rianna Mukherjee are third-year law students at the University of Maryland Francis King Carey School of Law and student attorneys in the Racial Justice and the Law Clinic.