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Maine & Vermont: Voting Interest Up in Prison Facilities Officials in Maine and Vermont have stated that inmates' interest in voting is up this election year. The states are the only ones in the nation that allow individuals to vote while serving time for a conviction. "Vermont has taken the position the more we can get folks in prison involved in the community in a responsible way, the better their chances of reintroducing them to the civilian world in a responsible way," Secretary of State Deb Markowitz was quoted as saying by the Associated Press. "The rationale for disfranchisement has never been particularly compelling or clear," said Alexander Keyssar, a Harvard University historian and author of "The Right to Vote: The Contested History of Democracy in the United States." The AP reported that in the 1790s, the Vermont Legislature attempted to ban inmate voting. The move was overruled in 1799 by the Council of Censors, a now-defunct fourth branch of government that met every seven years to decide constitutional questions. Illinois: Some State Employees Well Versed on Voting Rights Laws, Some Not Terry Klingman, an Illinois resident who served nine months in prison, attempted to register to vote at the Department of Motor Vehicles. He was first denied by an employee who was not informed about state election law. Only after a supervising employee stepped in was Klingman able to register. According to the Kane County Chronicle , a Secretary of State spokesman said employees aren't necessarily versed in election law. At the Illinois Department of Corrections, however, employees inform inmates before they are released on parole that they are free to register to vote. "We want them to be prepared," said spokesman Derek Schnapp. "Hopefully they'll be a regular citizen in our society. But it's up to them whether or not they take the initiative to go register." Kansas: Voter Registration Ends on Positive Note Voter registration efforts on one Wichita corner have registered 2000 people; of those it was estimated that about 25% were citizens with felony convictions, KSN3 reported. According to Kansas law, residents can vote if they've completed their sentence and probation or parole. "They didn't realize that because they had a felony, it could be years ago, and it's been off paper, they haven't been in jail, they can still vote," said Representative Gail Finney. National: Broadcasters Pay Attention to Disenfranchisement The Sentencing Project's Advocacy Director, Kara Gotsch, appeared on NPR's "News and Notes" show highlighting voting rights of individuals with felony convictions. Countering Gotsch's view during the segment, entitled "Assessing Voting Rights," was Heritage Foundation Senior Policy Analyst, David Mulhausen. Click here to listen to the interview. The Sentencing Project's Policy Analyst, Ryan S. King, was also featured on the American News Project which highlighted a Virginia barber who is permanently banned from voting. NPR's show, "The State We're In," featured U.S. disenfranchisement in its coverage, focusing on New Jersey and Rhode Island voting laws. New Jersey law automatically restores voting rights after probation or parole. In 2006, Rhode Island residents voted to restore voting rights upon leaving prison. Maryland: Press Conference to Spotlight Unlawful Cancellation of Registration Applications; Voting Leads to Community Connection, Empowerment The African American Democratic Club of Baltimore City and the NAACP Baltimore City Branch have scheduled a press conference today to notify more than 400 citizens with felony convictions that they may be eligible to vote, despite their having received a letter from the Baltimore City Election Board stating that their voter registration applications were canceled. Applicants were sent undated letters not addressed to anyone specifically. The letters did not mention a deadline for responding to the election board letter nor include contact information or an official's name and signature. "We find it appalling that the Baltimore City Election Board will not correct their error thereby possibly enabling qualified voter registrants to have their applications made active and to allow them to vote," stated Minister C.D. Witherspoon, President of the African American Democratic Club of Baltimore. "We're going to try and get as many former felons as we can," Marvin L. "Doc" Cheatham Sr., president of the Baltimore chapter of the NAACP told the Baltimore Sun. In response to a Daily Times editorial in support of vote restoration, Amy Cruice, director of the American Civil Liberties Union of Maryland's Election Protection Campaign, wrote a letter to the editor that described Maryland's voting rights laws and benefits to voting after incarceration. "People who vote feel more connected to their community and are empowered by having a voice in the democratic process," stated Cruice. She stated that formerly incarcerated individuals who vote are less likely to be re-arrested. Iowa: Voting Rights Law is "Simple" According to The Gazette, state officials, including Department of Corrections employees, are unclear on how a person's criminal record affects voting eligibility. "It's really very simple, said Iowa Secretary of State Michael Mauro. "Iowa's rule is that as long as you're not a convicted felon serving a sentence, you have every right as anyone else has to vote." Each month, the Department of Corrections sends the names of those who have completed their sentences to the governor, who automatically reinstates their rights. Ohio: Secretary of State Backs Voter Education for Individuals with Felony Convictions The Voting Rights Institute of the Ohio Secretary of State has produced a flyer on the voting rights of formerly incarcerated people that is being widely disseminated throughout the state. In cooperation with the Department of Rehabilitation and Correction, "Find a New Direction: Reclaim Your Right to Vote" will be distributed on an ongoing basis through corrections agencies, non-profit organizations, and civic groups. The flyer includes basic information on Ohio voter qualification law for people with felony convictions, including such issues as misdemeanor and out-of-state convictions. Florida: Restoration Change Still Doesn't Fix the Problem In response to a Sun-Sentinel investigation that revealed voting registration discrepancies, Muslima Lewis and Mark Schlakman wrote in a Tallahassee Democrat opinion editorial on the continued confusion disenfranchisement laws have brought individuals seeking the right to vote, in addition to state officials. "It would be a travesty if election officials were to, once again, deprive eligible individuals of an opportunity to exercise one of the most fundamental rights in a democratic society. Florida can ill-afford to repeat this history." Lewis, senior attorney for the ACLU's Racial Justice and Voting Rights Projects and Schlakman, senior program director at the Center for the Advancement of Human Rights at Florida State University, write that despite the April 2007 rule change allowing citizens with non violent records to vote, hundreds of thousands still cannot vote. Alabama: NAACP Settles Voting Rights Case, Allows Inmate Voter Education to Continue Rev. Kenneth Glasgow resumed registering Alabama inmates to vote and fill out absentee ballot applications after the NAACP Legal Defense Fund (LDF) settled the lawsuit it filed against the Alabama Department of Corrections in federal court earlier this month on behalf of Rev Glasgow. The Alabama Department of Corrections canceled Rev. Glasgow's efforts at the request of the Alabama Republican Party. "Now I can continue the ministry that God gave me: helping to give a voice to the voiceless by reaching out to people in Alabama's correctional facilities who are eligible to vote," said Reverend Glasgow. "The ministry is so critical because too many in Alabama's correctional facilities who are eligible to vote don't know it." Ryan P. Haygood, Co-Director of LDF's Political Participation Group, who represented Rev. Glasgow stated, "This significant development strengthens the integrity of Alabama's democratic processes by guaranteeing that eligible voters who seek to vote will have their voices heard." For additional information, see Associated Press coverage, and Ballot Access News. California: ACLU Voter Education Campaign will be Mainstay for Future Campaigns The ACLU has been broadcasting radio spots and using its Web site to educate formerly incarcerated individuals on their voting rights as part of an ongoing public information campaign. The effort, which also includes handing out bilingual fliers to churches and civic groups, will be used not only for the upcoming election, but future elections, News Channel 3 reported. "A lot of people feel that they have kinda' permanent sentence that it's like they have a big scarlet a on their chest and they'll never have the rights of a normal citizen again," said Eric Greene of the American Civil Liberties Union in Los Angeles. - - - - - - 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

[Courtesy of DPA] For Immediate Release: October 24, 2008 Contact: Margaret Dooley-Sammuli at (213) 291-4190 or Tommy McDonald at (510) 229-5215 Prop. 5 Supporters Release New TV Ads, Focus on Youth Drug Treatment Under Prop. 5 LOS ANGELES – Supporters of Proposition 5, the Nonviolent Offender Rehabilitation Act, today unveiled two new TV spots intended to begin running statewide next week. Both Yes on 5 spots highlight the measure’s drug treatment programs for young people. If passed, Prop. 5 would provide $65 million per year to counties to make drug treatment available to at-risk youth under the age of 18. Virtually no publicly funded treatment is available now for young people. The first Yes on 5 spot, titled “Warden,” features Jeanne Woodford, former warden of San Quentin State Prison and former Director of the California Department of Corrections. Against a backdrop of images of San Quentin, she speaks of her 25 years working at the prison, where she began as a prison guard. “Let me tell you,” Woodford says, “too many of the men I dealt with started out as kids with drug problems. But California doesn’t have treatment for kids.” She goes on to say that the youth treatment provisions of Prop. 5 are one of its main draws for her. “I can’t tell you how good I feel,” Woodford says, “when I think of all those kids who will never wind up in prison.” The second Yes on 5 spot offers a dramatic story of a young person who has slipped into addiction and criminal activity as a result of a drug problem. In “Rewind,” we take a look back at what happened: “When he was 14,” the narrator says, “he had a drug problem. But there was no drug treatment available. Now, we have to spend forty-six thousand dollars a year to keep him in prison.” Prop. 5 is “a better way” because it offers drug treatment to young people, the narrator says. The spot then ends by showing the two possible outcomes – in one frame, the youth is shown in a mug shot, headed for jail. In the other, he is wearing a cap and gown, graduating from college. Margaret Dooley-Sammuli, deputy campaign manager for Yes on 5, said, “Prop. 5 would fill a huge gap in drug treatment services in California. It is shocking how little we do now for young people with drug problems. These ads highlight for voters one of the most important aspects of Prop. 5, something almost everyone can identify with.” These ads, and others, are in final testing stages. The youth ads can be viewed online today: http://www.prop5yes.com/campaign-ads-videos ###

Many of you have called us to find out if our director Dennis Sobin is still scheduled to go to trial next week for entering Washington City Hall against his son Assistant D.C. Attorney General Darrin Sobin's wishes. Yes, the trial is still set to take place at DC Superior Court, 500 Indiana Ave NW, Washington, DC before Judge Linda Turner on Wednesday, October 29, 2008 at 11 am. No, his son has not had a change of heart, nor has the mayor or Darrin's superiors seen fit to intervene YET. Please do not call us as we have no further information! If you wish to call anyone, you can contact Mayor Adrian Fenty at 202-724-8876. Please read the heartfelt letter below that Dennis sent to him before you call. As of this writing, there has been no response from the mayor. We believe he has taken a strong personal interest in this matter, but we do not know for sure. You can find out by calling 202-724-8876. LETTER: Dear Mayor Fenty, It was great seeing you recently. Your admiration of my work as a performing artist at the Kennedy Center and as director of the Prisons Foundation is greatly appreciated. Let me begin by saying that it's always a pleasure meeting you. The support you and your agencies have given to the Prisons Foundation in its mission to support the arts and education in prison, reentry of prisoners into society, and victim assistance, is most admirable. Unfortunately, I have not been able to accept your invitation to come to City Hall to meet with you because of threats made by my son, Darrin Sobin, an assistant attorney's general there. Darrin, for all his good features and capabilities that we discussed, has been hateful to me ever since I sued him and my sister for failing to account for my inheritance, which they jointly managed after my mother's death while I was in prison in the 1990's. While I have extended the olive branch to them in recent years, they have not relented in their efforts to keep me away from them. Through his influence, power and knowledge of the law, Darrin got a stay away order from me to keep me away from him. He recently invoked it to keep me away from City Hall under threat of arrest. It is not an idle threat as he had me arrested in April and charged with three counts of violating the stay away order for three appearances I made at City Hall, each time to testify at public hearings. As far as I know, Darrin intends to prosecute me with the help of his colleagues in both the DC Attorney General's Office and the Federal Attorney General's Office (Darrin is a registered Republican with good federal connections). Indeed, when he got his stay away order from me, he was represented in court by the highly experienced Director of the domestic violence branch of the DC Attorney General's Office, despite the fact that there has never been violence or even the threat of violence in this matter. You had mentioned in one of our conversations that you would "talk to Darrin." This was not my suggestion but yours, and I appreciated it. Indeed, he should know what's at stake if he continues his course of action. Darrin has more to lose from my upcoming trial on October 29 if he pursues this prosecution of his father than I do, whether or not he succeeds in sending me to jail. If he wins and has me put in jail, it will be a shameful thing for a lawyer to do, particularly one whose legal education was paid in part by his father. If he loses, there will be grounds by me for recovery of damages for false arrest and malicious prosecution. Thank you for anything you have done or intend to do in accordance with your promise to me. With kind regards, Dennis Dennis Sobin, Director Prisons Foundation 1600 K Street. NW, Suite 501 Washington, DC 20006 www.PrisonsFoundation.org [email protected] 202-393-1511

The Unvarnished Truth About the Drug War From the Drug Truth Network: (To downlad these 29:00 files, click on links below. To simply listen, go to www.drugtruth.net and select the arrow below the shows description.) Cultural Baggage for 10/22/08 NORML & Pledge Drive Special: Keith Stoup, former Dir of NORML, Dale Geringer of CA NORML, Mason Tvert of SAFER, Los Marijuano's, Phil Jackson with Black Perspective on the Drug War & Winston Francis with the "Official Government Truth" MP3 LINK: http://www.drugtruth.net/cms/?q=audio/download/2104/FDBCB_102208.mp3 TRANSCRIPT: (TBD) Century of Lies for 10/14/08 Pledge Drive Special with Reports from the National Organizatiion for Reform of Marijuana Laws conference in Berkeley California with Steve Bloom, former High Times Editor and author of Pot Culture + Attorney James Anthony MP3 LINK: http://www.drugtruth.net/cms/?q=audio/download/2103/COL_102108.mp3 TRANSCRIPT: (TBD) PLEASE NOTE: We now have transcripts, potcasts, searchability, CMS, XML, sorts by guest name and by organization. Hear the debate between the DA candidates in "Gulag City": http://www.cultural-baggage.com/Audio/debate101408.mp3 Next - Century of Lies on Tues, Cutural Baggage on Wed, listen online at www.kpft.org: - Cultural Baggage 12:30 PM ET, 11:30 AM CT, 10:30 AM MT & 9:30 AM PT: Reports from NORML Conference - Century of Lies 12:30 PM ET, 11:30 AM CT, 10:30 AM MT & 9:30 AM PT: National Organization for Reform of Marijuana Laws Hundreds of our programs are available online at www.drugtruth.net, www.audioport.org and at www.radio4all.net. We provide the "unvarnished truth about the drug war" to scores of broadcast affiliates in the US, Canada and Now Australia!!! Programs produced at Pacifica Radio Station KPFT in Houston. www.kpft.org Check out our latest videos via www.youtube.com/fdbecker: More than 55 Drug Policy Videos online) Please become part of the solution, visit our website: www.endprohibition.org for links to the best of reform. "Prohibition is evil." - Reverend Dean Becker, Drug Truth Network Producer Dean Becker 713-849-6869 www.drugtruth.net

[Courtesy of Harm Reduction Coalition] 7th National Harm Reduction Conference: Towards A National Policy, November 13-16 2008, Hilton Hotel - Miami Florida, www.harmreduction.org Letter from Allan Clear Dear Friends, Every two years at this time I write an inspirational letter of greeting for this conference announcement. This year the letter writes itself. The Seventh National Harm Reduction Conference is taking place within 9 days of the national elections. There is reason for optimism. With some mobilization, the purveyors of eight long years of lies, corruption, hypocrisy, destruction, nepotism, greed, callousness, con-passion, and debt creation will be shuttled off into a deep, dark, disused uranium mine. We will have an end to the worst presidency in our history. The characters that have lurked, like Harry Potter's death-eating foes, in the White House will be no more (although we all know that people like Cheney exhibit a Voldemort-like quality of never quite going away). A Democrat in the White House will not guarantee that a change is going to come in any significant fashion. But taking a harm reduction approach of "meeting politicians where they are" and embracing any positive change, what can we reasonably expect? An end to the morale-crushing, exodus-inducing politicization of institutions such as the CDC, NIDA and SAMSHA should be on the score sheet. An open dialog with the scientific community about harm reduction-based interventions, such as naloxone and syringe exchange, could be held without the straitjacket of censorship. Local authorities would actually be encouraged to start and expand syringe exchange. A new administration might work with Congress to increase funding for viral hepatitis, eliminate racialized sentencing disparities for crack cocaine, direct SAMSHA to launch a national overdose prevention strategy, and formulate goals to make drug treatment on demand ?including buprenorphine for those at the margins of the health care system?a reality. Global AIDS funding through PEPFAR would be expanded for countries with injection-related HIV epidemics and restrictions on abortion providers, abstinence requirements in HIV prevention, and anti-prostitution "pledges" would be eliminated. Communities and health officials could pursue establishing safe injection spaces and heroin prescription without having to look quite as rigorously over their shoulders for the goon squad to come beating down the doors. And the federal ban on the funding of syringe exchange will ultimately become a footnote in the history of failed governance. Maybe by the year 2013, the feds will actually provide some money for syringe access. We've done the groundwork and the evidence exists to support our efforts, but we will not have an easy path, no matter who is in Congress or the White House. The Seventh National Harm Reduction Conference will have an eye firmly on the national scene. There is no reason why compassion, science and common sense cannot prevail, nor any reason why the United States could not adopt a harm reduction framework to address drug and alcohol problems. Join us in Miami and be part of the direction, planning and brainstorming. See you there. Allan Clear Executive Director

[Courtesy of Yes on Proposition 5] The ills of California's prison system have been diagnosed in one expert report after another, but the prescriptions for change have been ignored. Now, with Proposition 5, voters have the opportunity to enact a range of reforms recommended by experts that would reduce overcrowding and improve rehabilitation. "The prison lobby has dictated criminal justice policies for decades. Look at the results: prisons are stuffed to twice their capacity and the recidivism rate is twice the national average," said Dan Macallair, executive director of the Center on Juvenile and Criminal Justice. "Prop. 5 takes a different approach to reduce recidivism – one recommended by criminal justice policy experts from around the country." Voters will decide on Prop. 5 just two weeks before a trial begins in a lawsuit that could result in an outright takeover of California's prison system by a panel of three federal judges. But, as with every prior effort to reform California's prison system, law enforcement groups and the prison guards' union are fighting tooth and nail to prevent reform. The prison guards recently poured $1 million into the No on 5 campaign. "After 25 years in San Quentin, I know how broken our corrections system is. Prop. 5 is the breath of fresh air this system needs," said Jeanne Woodford, former director of the California Department of Corrections under Gov. Schwarzenegger. "I am surprised to see a law enforcement organization that is responsible for public safety opposing an initiative that will not only reduce cost but will also dramatically improve public safety." "We have let law enforcement drive our response to addiction for long enough – and we are all, quite literally, paying the price," said Margaret Dooley-Sammuli, deputy campaign manager of Yes on 5. "Now it's finally time to listen to policy experts. By reducing addiction, we'll prevent crime and cut costs to the state." Prop. 5 is endorsed the League of Women Voters of California, the California Nurses Association, California Federation of Teachers and the California Society of Addiction Medicine, the California State Conference of the NAACP and the National Council of la Raza, among many others. The nonpartisan legislative analyst calculates Prop. 5 will reduce incarceration costs by $1 billion annually and save taxpayers $2.5 billion in reduced prison-construction costs. This doesn't include savings related to reduced crime, fewer social services costs (e.g. emergency room visits, welfare), and increased individual productivity. For more information, visit www.prop5yes.com.