Introduction to US Government’s System of Checks and Balance

Alliance for Citizen Engagement

Introduction Checks and balances refers to a system of government allowing separate government branches to “check” or overturn acts of one branch if those acts are unconstitutional. Checks function to “balance” governing power equally among branches. The U.S. federal government’s system of checks and balances exists in the powers shared between its three branches of […]

Disenfranchisement of Convicted Felons and Incarcerated People

Alliance for Citizen Engagement

Disenfranchisement, or the deprivation of the right to vote, of criminals is a practice adopted from English law which many states integrated into their constitutions after the Civil War. Every state except Maine, Vermont, and Washington, D.C., enforces some restriction on voting for incarcerated persons. The Tenth Amendment gives states jurisdiction over their election and […]