Publications [#319043] of Matthew S. Whitt

Journal Articles

1. Whitt, MS. "Felon Disenfranchisement and Democratic Legitimacy." Social Theory and Practice 43.2 (2017): 283-311. [doi]
   (last updated on 2020/02/23)

   Abstract:
   Political theorists have long criticized policies that deny voting rights to convicted felons. However, some have recently turned to democratic theory to defend this practice, arguing that democratic self-determination justifies, or even requires, disenfranchising felons. I review these new arguments, acknowledge their force against existing criticism, and then offer a new critique of disenfranchisement that engages them on their own terms. Using democratic theory’s “all-subjected principle,” I argue that liberal democracies undermine their own legitimacy when they deny the vote to felons and prisoners. I then show how this argument overcomes obstacles that cause problems for other critiques of disenfranchisement.