[JURIST] Millions of Americans have been effectively disenfranchised because of criminal convictions, according to a report [text; press release] released Wednesday by the American Civil Liberties Union (ACLU) [advocacy website] and the Brennan Center for Justice [academic website]. The report found that state and county election officials receive little or no training regarding the applicable laws, resulting in widespread misunderstanding. It continued:

De facto disenfranchisement has devastating long-term effects in communities across the country. Once a single local election official misinforms a citizen that he is not eligible to vote because of a past conviction, it is unlikely that citizen will ever follow up or make a second inquiry. Without further public education or outreach, the citizen will mistakenly believe that he is ineligible to vote for years, decades, or maybe the rest of his life. And that same citizen may pass along that same inaccurate information to his peers, family members and neighbors, creating a lasting ripple of de facto disenfranchisement across his community.