Southern reactions and the tyranny of small numbers: A historical-comparative study of lifetime felony disenfranchisement legislation

This study is a historical-comparative investigation into the forces behind the passage of lifetime felony disenfranchisement (LFD) legislation in three states: Florida, Texas, and Iowa. Currently, thirteen states in the U.S. maintain lifetime felony disenfranchisement legislation, while a total of 48 states have some sort of felony disenfranchisement legislation on the books. Lifetime felony disenfranchisement legislation bars those convicted of a felony from voting for life.;The passage of LFD legislation in Florida and Texas can be considered instrumental in that these states passed this legislation in the wake of the Civil War with the intention to discriminate against the large black populations in each state. Iowa, on the other hand, passed its LFD legislation as a symbolic gesture to the white majority of the state, serving to legitimate the values and ideals of the white population.;This study also investigates the repeal of LFD legislation in Texas in 1983, as well as the most recent attempts at repeal in Florida in 2002 and in Iowa in 2003. Texas repealed its LFD legislation due to the protection provided to the state legislation by symbolic covers. Florida maintains its LFD legislation because of the overwhelming power of its instrumental nature, as demonstrated by the 2000 Presidential election. Iowa maintains its LFD legislation due to the tyranny of small numbers, referring to Iowa's small incarcerated and black populations. (Abstract shortened by UMI.).