Voting Rights, Taxation and Equal Citizenship

Government should maintain accurate voter rolls without silently removing eligible citizens, and it should not indefinitely demand the obligations of citizenship while withholding a citizen’s political voice.

Policy objective

Establish a durable national standard protecting eligible voters from removal without adequate notice and due process, restoring voting rights after completion of incarceration, and addressing the conflict created when a jurisdiction taxes a citizen whom it refuses to permit to vote because of a felony conviction.

The public problem

Election officials have a legitimate responsibility to maintain accurate voter records. That responsibility must be exercised through reliable evidence, transparent rules and meaningful correction procedures. Missed notices, outdated addresses, data mismatches and commercial information should not quietly determine whether an eligible citizen can cast a regular ballot.

Felony disenfranchisement creates an additional question of equal citizenship. A person can remain an American citizen, work, maintain a home, support a family and pay taxes while being prohibited from selecting the officials who impose those taxes and make decisions affecting that person’s life.

Core policy provisions

1. No eligible citizen may be removed from a voter roll solely because the citizen did not vote.
2. Election officials must provide clear notice, a meaningful correction period and an accessible method for confirming registration status.
3. Commercial information may initiate a review, but it may not serve as the sole basis for canceling a registration.
4. Voter removal programs must undergo independent auditing and publish understandable results.
5. Voting rights should be restored automatically after completion of the custodial sentence imposed by the court.
6. If a jurisdiction continues denying a citizen the vote solely because of a felony conviction, that jurisdiction should provide a corresponding exemption from personal taxation for the period of disenfranchisement.

Constitutional pathway

Under current Supreme Court doctrine, Richardson v. Ramirez recognizes state authority to impose felony disenfranchisement under Section 2 of the Fourteenth Amendment. Hunter v. Underwood establishes that a disenfranchisement provision motivated by racial discrimination violates equal protection.

A President cannot create a uniform rule for every federal, state and local election through executive order. The administration would submit legislation to Congress, support federal protections within Congress’s constitutional election authority, and advocate for an Article V amendment establishing a permanent nationwide standard.

Tax implementation

The tax provision would require careful legislation. Federal income taxes, state income taxes, payroll taxes, property taxes and sales taxes operate through different governments and legal systems. Congress would define the federal exemption, while the constitutional amendment and implementing legislation would establish corresponding state and local obligations.

The legislation must preserve earned Social Security and Medicare credits. It must also define eligibility, verification, start and end dates, refunds, administrative appeals and safeguards against inconsistent treatment.

Administration and oversight

• The Department of Justice would enforce applicable federal voting protections.
• The Election Assistance Commission would develop model notice, registration verification and audit standards.
• The Department of the Treasury and Internal Revenue Service would implement any federal tax provisions enacted by Congress.
• Independent inspectors general would review implementation, data reliability and civil rights compliance.
• Congress would receive public annual reports concerning removals, restorations, disputed records and tax administration.

Funding approach

Voter protection and registration modernization would use existing election administration resources supplemented by appropriations approved by Congress. The tax component would require a public fiscal estimate covering federal, state and local effects. Administrative costs and revenue changes would be reported openly rather than hidden inside unrelated legislation.

Intended national result

The intended result is an election system in which voter records are accurate, eligible citizens receive meaningful due process, voting rights are restored through a clear national rule, and no government may indefinitely impose the obligations of citizenship while withholding political representation without consequence.

Read the public article and join the discussion