Letters to the editor, Oct. 28

A citizen who was convicted of a felony regains the right to vote when they complete their sentence. Most felony sentences include post-incarceration time like parole and probation.

But most Americans don’t understand technical legal definitions. For those familiar with the criminal justice system in their daily life, the line between a sentence and regular life becomes blurry. There is no government office accountable for helping, and even parole officers are not responsible for telling former felons when they regain the right to vote.

This blurry understanding hits harder in communities who are disproportionately convicted of felonies. In Texas, felony disenfranchisement for African Americans is three times the rate for the total population. Just ask Crystal Mason’s family. She’s the Fort Worth mother who’s in jail for casting a provisional ballot while on probation, even though her ballot was never counted.

Texas created a government process that removes the right to vote and then refuses to communicate when the right returns.

Someone who served their time has no practical way to confirm their right to vote. They can’t contact a government office (there isn’t one!). They can’t resubmit a voter registration application (whoops, just committed perjury!). They can’t cast a provisional ballot (uh oh, criminal voter fraud!). With no help and huge risks, many experts would call this tactic voter suppression, but to a law student like me, it just looks like a trap.

Olivia Countryman,

Denton