Keywords
Innocent Until Proven Guilty, Disenfranchised, disenfranchisement, voting, voting rights, prison, jail, right to vote, Fifteenth Amendment, Nineteenth Amendment, Sixth Amendment
Abstract
Jails throughout the United States hold thousands of legally eligible voters who have not been convicted of a crime While those convicted of felonies are often statutorily disenfranchised, pretrial detainees retain their civil rights—including the right to vote. In theory, this should guarantee them a voice. In practice, pretrial detention operates like a legal disqualification. Without meaningful enforcement mechanisms, the right to vote becomes hollow.
This Comment argues that implementing a national standard based on the proactive policies of Massachusetts and Nevada will ensure accessible voting for pretrial detainees. To build that argument, this Comment first explores the low level of protection provided by existing Supreme Court precedent. It will then examine how logistical obstacles at the state level—such as voter registration rules and absentee ballot procedures—contribute to pretrial detainees’ disenfranchisement. Finally, this Comment will highlight reforms implemented in a handful of states and argue for a federal framework that ensures voting access for all eligible voters, regardless of detention status.
Recommended Citation
Kennedy Hill,
Innocent Until Proven Guilty, Disenfranchised All the Same: Hidden Voter Suppression Within American Jails,
78 Ark. L. Rev.
(2025).
Available at:
https://scholarworks.uark.edu/alr/vol78/iss3/7