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Will the Marijuana Vote Help the Democrats in November?

That's the question everyone's asking this week thanks to this piece from Joshua Green at The Atlantic. The idea is that putting marijuana reform initiatives on the ballot could bring greater numbers of young, left-leaning voters out to the polls in November. With marijuana initiatives up for a vote in six states this year, we'll have an interesting opportunity to evaluate how other campaigns are impacted by the pot vote.

[image:1 align:left]Whether the theory amounts to much is hard to predict and will be difficult to measure even after the polls close in November. But the fact that we're even talking about this is significant. Our political culture is fascinated with the idea that niche demographics can be mobilized in a cynical effort to shape the balance of power in Washington. Karl Rove's successful use of gay marriage bans to bring out conservative voters in 2004 is still widely regarded as an ingenious ploy that may have clinched the election for Bush.

The mere notion that state-level marijuana reform efforts can impact national politics is a healthy dose of leverage and legitimacy for our movement. When political pundits begin speculating about our ability to bring out voters, that sends a message to politicians in a language they understand. For decades, the Democratic Party has remained shamefully silent on marijuana policy -- despite overwhelming support for reform within its base – all because party leaders persist in clinging foolishly to the 1980's mentality that any departure from the "tough on drugs" doctrine is political suicide. What now?

Will the Democrats continue defending the arrest of their own supporters, even when doing so threatens to compromise their candidates in close races? Will the Republicans make a show of fighting back against legalization, even when doing so threatens to alienate the party's growing libertarian wing? What happens next is anyone's guess, but it's becoming clear that the surging marijuana legalization debate is pinching political nerves and creating opportunities for anyone clever enough to capitalize on it.

The Sentencing Project: Disenfranchisement News -- July 8, 2010

 

Disenfranchisement News

Sentencing Project

In this issue

·         International: Kenyan Prisoners to Vote in August; Disenfranchisement Addressed Across Borders » GO

·         Oklahoma: State Officials Still Confused » GO

 

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The Sentencing Project.

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July 8, 2010

Disenfranchisement News

International

Kenyan prisoners to vote in August

After a petition was filed by prison inmates in Mombasa, a Kenyan court has decided to allow prisoners to vote in the upcoming August election.  It is the first time that Kenyan prisoners have been given the right to vote, BBC reported.

"It is a credible decision," said Hassan Omar Hassan of the Kenya National Commission on Human Rights. "The punishment is supposed to be reformative and when people are incarcerated they lose their freedom but other rights should stay."

A Business Daily editorial, which makes mention of the U.S. standard of denying voting rights, applauded Kenya's reform stating: "It represents a change in the way our justice system and the public at large is now looking at jails - not as institutions for punishment but as instruments of correction where inmates are treated with respect and dignity even as they are helped to walk away from their criminal past."

Disenfranchisement Addressed Across Borders

Radio Bilingüe's program, "Linea Abierto," examined disenfranchisement in a broadcast featuring Myrna Pérez of the Brennan Center, rights restoration advocate Andrés Idarraga, and Pastor Gilberto Velez. The program, based in Mexico, highlighted the various impacts of voter disenfranchisement to the Latino community. To listen to the Spanish broadcast, click here.

Oklahoma

Good Behavior + Credits + Release = Continued Disenfranchisement

Tulsa World columnist Julie DelCour explains the rule of law in Oklahoma: "If an inmate receives a 10-year sentence, accrues credits for good behavior and is released early without supervision, he or she still cannot vote until the 10-year sentence expires." DelCour quotes several editorials, including Time magazine and the Chicago Tribune, that oppose disenfranchisement after prisoners have completed their sentence.

Based on a League of Women Voters study, DelCour states that "by some calculations" about 10 percent of Oklahoma's voting-age population has a felony record. Further, the state has the fourth highest per-capita incarceration rate.

"The number of felons serving probation or parole is growing, not shrinking," she writes. "Also increasing is the number of former inmates who followed the rules, participated in programs and received an early release because of their positive actions while incarcerated. They aren't allowed to register to vote, however, because their sentence has not expired." Read article here.

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The Sentencing Project is a national organization working for a fair and effective criminal justice system by promoting reforms in sentencing law and practice, and alternatives to incarceration.

 

Dispensary applicants competing for licenses

Maine's Department of Health and Human Services plans to announce on Friday which of the applicants will be awarded the first dispensary licenses. The state's new medical marijuana law allows for eight dispensaries in various regions of the state.

The Guatemalan president's connections to the drug cartel

Some of the extraordinary profit made possible by drug prohibition is used to influence the political class. Guatemala’s President Álvaro Colom Caballeros has long been criticized for his alleged ties to drug trafficking organizations.
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