No other nation denies voting rights to so many people because of their prison record. In most states even nonviolent offenses such as writing a bad check, shoplifting or possession of a small amount of marijuanaa can cost you the right to vote. In 46 states and District of Columbia, criminal disenfrachisement laws deny the vote to all convicted adults in prison. Thirty-two states won't allow felons on parole to vote, and 29 states deny voting rights to those who are on probation. In 14 states, former inmates are barred from voting for life after they complete their sentences.
Many black people are casualties of a war on drugs that discriminates based on race.
According to Human Rights Watch and the Sentencing Project, African Americans make up 13 percent to 15 percent of all drug users, yet they account for 36 percent of all arrests for drug possession. Between 1985 and 1995, the number of blacks imprisoned for drug crimes increased eight-fold from 16,600 to 134,000. In 1996, the incarceration rate for black men was 8 times that of white men. In Alabama and Florida almost one-third of black men are not eligible to vote. This is a civil-rights issue.