Can Martha Stewart Ever Vote Again?

Can Martha Stewart Ever Vote Again?

When and whether federal inmate No. 55170-054, Martha Stewart, ever votes again depends on which of her homes she claims as her primary residence after release from the federal correctional facility. Stewart owns several homes, one each in Connecticut, New York and Maine.

The Fourteenth Amendment grants power to the individual states to determine whether to disenfranchise its citizens "for participating in rebellion, or other crime." States typically interpret felonies to belong to the nebulous category, "other crimes."

Most people assume that all felons forfeit the right to vote for life, but only 37 states deny the right to vote to convicted felons who have paid their debt to society. Currently, 48 states and the District of Columbia deny incarcerated felons the right to vote, Maine and Vermont being the only exceptions.

Residency's Role in Reestablishing the Right to Vote

Is it the residence in New York, Connecticut or Maine that Stewart calls home? One of those must serve as her primary residence at any given time, but that has proven unclear in the past, especially to Stewart. In 1991, she told New York authorities that the Westbury, CT residence was her primary residence, claiming that her East Hampton, NY home was uninhabitable. In fact, one of those recitations of the facts took place under oath. In the Christmas issue of her magazine, she must have been confused, because she referred to the uninhabitable East Hampton residence as home. Perhaps the heart of the inconsistency lies in the definition of the word "uninhabitable," or perhaps East Hampton sells more magazines than Connecticut, but this editorial oversight cost Stewart dearly-in excess of $200,000 in back New York state income taxes, fines, and interest.