Confederate "Heritage" Month 2022, April 24: Felony disenfranchisement in Mississippi

Mississippi’s Gov. Tate Reeves, who formally proclaimed April as Confederate Heritage Month in Mississippi, is a committed Republican “culture warrior” on issues like abortion and the anti-“critical race theory” hype. But he hasn’t forgotten the old-fashioned kind of methods used for decades to deprive Black citizens of their right to vote in Mississippi and other states.

One of those was felony disenfranchisement. After the Civil War, many African-Americans were arrested, often on trumped-up charges, then sentenced to prison, where they were hired out to former slave-owners as work gangs. “Involutary servitude” was allowed by the 13th Amendment as punishment for crimes. Then after they served their prison sentences, they were then denied the right to vote because they were convicted felons. This is a practice that still disporportionately affects Black voters.

A Mississippi Democratic friend of mine uses the nickname "Tater Tot" for Reeves, a reference to a popular Southern side dish. Tate is the child of a wealthy family who affects a strong rural Mississippi accent in his public statements.

As Bobby Harrison reports (Gov. Tate Reeves vetoes bill easing Jim Crow-era voting restrictions Missisippi Today 04/23/2022) He vetoed a bill that was passed by the Republican-dominated legislature that would have simply made it easier for felons who had served their sentences to have their right to vote restored. He rejected even that, citing the relevance of the alleged practices of ancient Greece and Rome to 21st century criminal law:

“Felony disenfranchisement is an animating principle of the social contract at the heart of every great republic dating back to the founding of ancient Greece and Rome," the Republican Reeves wrote in his veto message, which was filed with the Legislature on Friday.

“In America, such laws date back to the colonies and the eventual founding of our Republic," Reeves continued. "Since statehood, in one form or another, Mississippi law has recognized felony disenfranchisement.”

It's worth recalliung that slavery and the full disenfrancisement of women were also part of Mississippi’s law when it became a state in 1817. Here's a more reality-based version from Democracy Docket (What Can We Learn From the History of Felony Disenfranchisement? 11/21/2021) on the ancient roots of the practice, and the American versions of it:

Also, when Republicans start referring to ancient Greco-Roman history, it's usually an indication that they are blowing smoke.

The idea of “civil death” — losing certain civic and public rights as a punishment for a crime — can be traced back to ancient Greece and Rome and were later transformed into the English laws that were brought to the British colonies. Although some state constitutions established a version of criminal disenfranchisement in the early 1800s, most of the modern felony disenfranchisement laws that we know today originated after the Civil War. [my emphasis]

Harrison also reports:

Mississippi is one of a handful of states — less than 10 — that places a lifetime ban on voting for those convicted of certain felonies unless through the action of the Legislature or the governor. Most states restore the right to vote at some point after a person has completed his or her sentence.

NOTE: A version of this post appeared on the Facebook page of the Progressive Caucus of Democrats Abroad on 05/02/2022.

See also:

• Mississippi Governor Vetoes Bill Easing Strict Felony Disenfranchisement Law Democracy Docket 04/27/2022
• Courtney Ann Jackson, Lawmakers and advocates question Governor’s latest veto involving expungements and voting rights WTOK-TV (Meridian MS) 04/27/2022