CREATORS
April 8, 2026
A new
Tennessee law will make it easier for people with felony convictions to vote.
For years, Tennessee prohibited former offenders who were behind on child
support or court costs and fines from voting. The state legislature recently
approved a measure that would permit people who have complied with child
support for one year to rejoin the voting and rolls. In addition, the law no
longer ties payment of court costs and fines to the right to vote.
According
to the Prison Project, laws in 48 states ban people with felony convictions
from voting. In 2022, an estimated 4.4 million Americans, representing 2% of
the voting-age population, were ineligible to vote due to similar
disenfranchisement laws or policies.
These
never-ending penalties are known as collateral consequences of crime.
Disenfranchising former offenders is one of a myriad of lifetime penalties
piled on people convicted of felonies in this country.
Lawmakers
nationwide would do well to eliminate some of the collateral consequences of a
criminal conviction. A criminal record shouldn't be a life sentence. The
ever-growing list of collateral sanctions often put former offenders in a
position to fail.
A
collateral sanction is a penalty, disability or disadvantage that is related to
employment or occupational licensing as a result of an offender's conviction.
The sanctions apply by operation of law, whether or not the penalty, disability
or disadvantage is included in the sentence.
According
to The Council of State Governments' Justice Center, a little less than one in
three offenders released from prison are reincarcerated within three years,
either committing a new crime or violating conditions of parole. While that is
an improvement over numbers from a decade ago, it is still too many.
The
problems with our crowded prisons are not just the result of punishing
offenders for their criminal conduct — the problems are compounded by ongoing
sanctions that hinder former offenders from successfully reintegrating into
society.
According
to a 2024 National Employment Law Project report, an estimated 80 million
Americans have a criminal record. The American Bar Association (ABA) has
identified over 38,000 penalties — collateral consequences — that can impact
people long after they have completed their criminal sentence.
The ABA
Task Force on Collateral Consequences found that a former offender "may be
ineligible for many federally funded health and welfare benefits, food stamps,
public housing and federal educational assistance." As a result, their
ability to earn a living in their chosen profession may be limited in that an
offender "may no longer qualify for certain employment and professional
licenses."
Collateral
consequences may prohibit military service, possession of a firearm or federal
security clearance. A non-citizen may lose the right to reside in the United States.
Supporting
a family is that much more difficult when employers refuse to hire former
offenders. Employers may be interested in giving a person a second chance, but
they are concerned that hiring a person with a criminal record might expose
them to liability for negligent hiring if the person commits a crime on the
job.
According
to the Vera Institute of Justice, half of all states punish people who cannot
pay fines and fees associated with criminal proceedings by taking away their
driver's licenses. This practice impacts nearly 11 million people nationwide
and diminishes their ability to secure a job, maintain stable housing and
participate in their community.
More
states, as well as the federal government, need to take action to remove
heavy-handed sanctions that drive up costs, increase victimization and often
doom offenders to a never-ending cycle of poverty or worse — reincarceration.
Matthew T.
Mangino is of counsel with Luxenberg, Garbett, Kelly & George P.C. His
book, "The Executioner's Toll," 2010, was released by McFarland
Publishing. You can reach him at www.mattmangino.com and follow him on Twitter
@MatthewTMangino
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