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Kentucky: House Committee Approves Restoration Bill By a 7-1 vote, a House committee approved a bill that would restore voting rights to former offenders who have completed their sentence. The measure, however, has yet to attract wide support in the Republican-held Senate, according to the Lexington Herald-Leader. If it passes both the House and the Senate, the bill would still require ratification by voters. National: Disenfranchisement's Effects, Roots In a personal account of disenfranchisement and the confusion and assumptions the public makes about who's eligible to vote, writer Amy Goodman explains how disenfranchisement affects the political system in the Arizona Daily Star. Goodman recounts a conversation with a friend who says he cannot vote due to a felony record and how she later reported back to him that he was misinformed and can, in fact, vote in his state. "We are constantly pushing for legislative change around the country. But public education is absolutely key," Ryan King, The Sentencing Project's policy analyst, was quoted as saying. "There are so many different laws that people simply don't know when their right to vote has been restored. That includes the personnel who work in state governments giving out the wrong information." Giving a historical overview of disenfranchisement's antebellum roots, Claremont Portside Magazine published an op-ed in support of re-enfranchisement. According to the article, in 1861, 19 of 34 states barred those with felonies from voting. "Then came the Civil War and the 14th and 15th Amendments. The latter outlawed disenfranchisement based of 'race, color, or creed,' but the former recognized a state's ability to withdraw that right for "participation in a rebellion, or other crimes," the article states. Noting that disenfranchisement silences poor and minority voters, the op-ed suggests that the nation incorporate ex-offenders in the process of self-government. Alabama: Struggle Part of State's History The Rev. Kenneth Glasgow, Executive Director of The Ordinary People's Society (TOPS) wrote an op-ed for the Birmingham News on his efforts last month to register jail inmates in Alabama. He mentions that most of the inmates he came into contact with were not aware of their voter eligibility and in the article Glasgow connected the need to be politically active to Dr. Martin Luther King's dream for equality and justice. "After visiting jails and prisons throughout the state and registering thousands of voters, I can tell you these people are not being notified of their voting rights, nor is there a system in place that allows them to exercise those rights," said Rev. Glasgow. "The struggle for equality under the law - especially for voting rights - is a part of our state's history." For additional coverage, see the Drug Policy Alliance Web Site. California: Voting Behind Bars - Jail Inmates Eligible While Awaiting Trial An Associated Press article describes the public's misperception of voting in jail while awaiting trial. According to the article published in the San Jose Mercury News, San Francisco jail inmate "Derek Jackson interrupted a shower to accept the sealed ballot a lawyer pushed through the bars of the jail cell he shares with 11 other men, hoping to make a difference in the society with which he has often been at odds." Outreach efforts like those of Prisoner Legal Services educate jail inmates and formerly incarcerated individuals so they don't mistakenly assume their records bar them for life. Furthermore, its lawyers regularly hand out absentee ballots and registration applications to those awaiting trial. Though other jurisdictions across the country have said otherwise, San Francisco Sheriff Mike Hennessey believes he is responsible for ensuring that inmates understand their rights and have access to register and voting. "We who run jails are enforcement officers, and one of the roles of government is to make voting accessible to those who are eligible, so it is merely a law enforcement role as far as I'm concerned," he said. - - - - - - Help The Sentencing Project continue to bring you news and updates on disenfranchisement! Make a contribution today. Contact Information -- e-mail: [email protected], web: http://www.sentencingproject.org.