In June 2003, after years of relentless efforts by Alabama Democratic state lawmakers, a
bill restoring voting rights to some ex-felons finally passed the state senate, where it had
previously been filibustered by Republican legislators. A few days later, Republican governor
Bob Riley vetoed the bill, a decision that enraged the Democratic majorities in both houses of the
legislature. One Democratic state representative opined that Riley caved to party pressure:
“[Members of the Republican Party] told the governor, ‘If you put [ex-felons] on the voting roll,
the next election they are going to be voting for the Democratic nominee instead of the
While Alabama Republicans seemed to fear the influx of potential
Democratic voters into the electorate, Democrats (especially African-American lawmakers)
appeared to welcome these new voters.
In July 1997, Republican lieutenant governor Paul Cellucci was sworn in as governor of
Massachusetts. Less than a month later he introduced a proposal to amend the state constitution.
The proposed amendment would strip felons currently incarcerated in a correctional facility of
their right to vote. The amendment received the support of an overwhelming majority of state
legislators and was ratified by nearly two-thirds of the electorate in a statewide referendum in
November 2000. The new governor, aware of the potential electoral threat of felons, proposed a
change in voting rights that was aimed at helping his party’s electoral prospects.
What these two examples have in common is the underlying political aspect of voting
rights. While the publicly-stated rationale for disfranchising certain voters is rarely of a political
nature, politicians are acutely aware of the possible electoral impact of a change in voting laws.
1
“Black Lawmakers Fight Veto of Felon Voting Bill: Caucus Members Plan National March At State Capital,” 26
June 2003, http://www.nbc13.com/print/2296944.
2
Governor Celluci was particularly troubled by incarcerated felons in Massachusetts who were organizing political
action committees from prison. This political activity by felons, a group generally opposed to Republicans, perhaps
spurred Celluci’s drive to amend the state constitution.
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Convention