Opinion: 鈥淲e the People鈥� Includes We the Incarcerated

This story was by Prison Journalism Project in partnership with , a national news organization that covers the people powering change, the challenges shaping our time, and what it means for all of us. The story is part of , a special series from PJP about voting, politics and democracy behind bars.

That the United States incarcerates people at a higher rate than most countries in the world is, by now, a truism.

But that鈥檚 not the only way in which the country is an outlier. The vast majority of people locked up in prisons throughout America cannot vote. In many democratic nations, including Canada and most of the European Union, . Imprisonment itself is seen as sufficient punishment.

The exclusion does not stop at the prison walls. There are over 2 million other Americans who have served their time but remain barred from voting because of a felony conviction.

In total, 4.6 million people are locked out of the democratic process in the United States. Nearly . That鈥檚 a fundamental flaw in this experiment called democracy.

Restoring our right to vote would make society safer. It would give incarcerated people a means of pushing back against a system that controls our lives. And it would help America realize a truer, more inclusive version of itself.

People in this country have a long history of fearing the other. I wonder what people might fear about currently and formerly incarcerated people voting? Is it that we might vote against the interests of fellow Americans?

Maybe some of us would vote in humane policymakers who mandate , or who challenge like picking cotton, the major cash crop of U.S. slavery. Others might mark their ballots for lawmakers committed to creating more green spaces and reducing food deserts in under-resourced communities.

Or maybe that wouldn鈥檛 happen. We are not a . In fact, inside I have noticed that it鈥檚 the working class, across all demographics, who overwhelmingly support Donald Trump. Those with more formal education tend to support Kamala Harris.

We probably care a lot about what you care about. We want our kids to grow up healthy and safe. We want fair politicians reelected and corrupt ones voted out. We want to fund and strengthen our communities, but not waste money.

For me? I would throw my support behind school board members who would allow my daughter to read The Bluest Eye by Toni Morrison, one of Texas鈥� most frequently banned books. I would advocate for safe and clean drinking water in rural towns, where prisons are often located. And I would rally behind leaders who protect a broad range of reproductive rights because I don鈥檛 believe my daughters should have fewer reproductive rights than their grandmother.聽

Meanwhile, by letting us have a say in politics, you are helping us become reinvested in our communities, where . The Sentencing Project released last year that argued restoring voting rights for people with felony convictions can improve public safety. The right to vote and the act of voting are linked to for Americans who have been involved with the criminal legal system, according to the report.

Instead of getting involved in our communities, we鈥檙e forced to sit on the sidelines and let the state do with us what it pleases.

A few years ago, Texas began . Before then, I was able to hold letters from my loved ones. I remember tracing the pink crayon-heart indentations of my daughter鈥檚 script, and taking in the signature scent of my mother鈥檚 perfume, which she sprayed on the page. Now, that simple but profound moment of physical connection is gone, and I can鈥檛 do anything about it.

Larger, attacks on our rights and dignity are also occurring while we cry out into the abyss, hoping someone will hear us. Failed forms of continue to extend sentences for convictions, no matter how old. Marijuana possession is still criminalized in many states, including Texas, a fact responsible for countless ruined lives. And , who in some cases can鈥檛 even recall their convictions, are routinely denied compassionate release. Shouldn鈥檛 those of us most impacted by these policies have an opportunity to influence them?

Some people think 鈥渘o.鈥� Supporters of felony disenfranchisement laws tend to argue that incarcerated people gave up their privilege to vote when they chose to break the law. But this view ignores the fact that our legal system treats the poor differently than the rich.

Consider the financial crisis of 2008. None of its bank CEO architects, who ruined millions of lives and cost the country an estimated $23 trillion, went to jail or prison. Same for members of the infamous Sackler family, whose company Purdue Pharma created Oxycontin and marketed the fatally addictive drug under false pretenses, leading to hundreds of thousands of deaths nationwide. Neither the bank CEOs nor the Sacklers lost their privilege to vote, despite breaking the law.

Meanwhile, former President Donald Trump, who was found guilty on 34 felony counts earlier this year, continues his run for re-election to the highest office in the land.

But my neighbors incarcerated for bouncing grocery checks at Walmart are left without the right to have a voice in our government?

More than anything, restoring our right to vote would honor the spirit of our democracy. It would signal to everyone inside and out that all voices matter, no matter what.

That would be a novel but no less essential development in the history of America. Since the end of the Civil War, the United States has found ways to disenfranchise Black voters. It started with literacy tests and poll taxes and threats of racist violence. Now, it鈥檚 through and mass incarceration.

鈥淲e the People鈥� includes we the incarcerated. It鈥檚 long past time to allow all voting-age Americans the freedom to vote.