Center for Community Engagement

To assess if expanding the right to vote amongst the formerly incarcerated impacts community safety trends, we must have a better grasp of the voting behavior of the formerly incarcerated in California since the passage of Prop 17. Past research has shown that increased feelings of belonging to one’s community have reduced crime rates, making for a more cohesive and well-functioning democracy (Stuart and Taylor, 2021). In turn, this research seeks to examine: What are the effects of having the right to vote on feelings of social connectedness to one’s community for California’s formerly incarcerated population?