Surveilling the Civil Death of the Criminal Class

In a liberal democracy, the loss of the right to vote is tantamount to political - and social - death. Systematic felon disenfranchisement is correlated with equally systematic exclusion from the body politic. It can be argued that the resultant marginalization creates a feedback loop of criminalization – with community members rendered increasingly criminal as they become disenfranchised for their criminal status. In the single social space formed by the prison and the ghetto, disenfranchisement assures that communities do not vote, but are rather are voted upon. Understanding the mechanisms through which the feedback loop of marginalization is constructed and maintained is key to understanding the use of surveillance to control the very electorate that ostensibly controls the democratic state. This chapter explores the underlying logic of felon disenfranchisement as pre-crime and its development as a modality of carceral governmentality.