Partisan Politics, Electoral Design, and the ‘Purity of the Ballot Box’: Felon and Ex-Felon Disfranchisement Laws in the U.S., 1960-1999.

This paper answers the following question: Under what conditions are states more likely to repeal disfranchisement provisions pertaining to the voting rights of persons convicted of a felony? We also address two broader questions: (1) Do parties seek electoral gain by changing the electoral system and voting laws? And (2) do parties override the ideological preferences of constituents in order to advance their electoral agenda? The answer to both questions is ‘yes’. We find that disfranchisement provisions are more likely to be repealed under a unified Democratic state government, but that states where electoral support for Democrats is generally weak are also more likely to repeal such provisions. We find no evidence that citizen ideology effects changes in voting rights. The implications of our analysis for students of parties and voting rights are clear: Rules are changed by those who stand to benefit, and parties matter at the state level. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]