Felony Disenfranchisement

Florida: Now that it's Official, Hurry up Already Writing in the Palm Beach Post, Mark Schlakman urged Gov. Charles Crist and his Cabinet to speed up the rights restoration process for the nearly one million citizens convicted of a felony. Reaching this goal would help to ensure that citizens can vote in time for the Presidential election, regain full citizenship, and be gainfully employed - particularly with regard to occupational license eligibility. Further, Schlakman argued that clemency issues should be considered apart from employment eligibility issues as they slow down the state's current process of identifying who is now eligible to vote. In the spring, Crist's Cabinet reinstated the right to vote to citizens convicted of non-violent felonies. Washington: After Supreme Court's Decision, Lawmakers Aim for Legislation "[The] ruling is just plain mean-spirited," the editorial board of the Columbian wrote in response to the Washington state Supreme Court's 6- 3 ruling last week that bans individuals from voting until court fees and restitution is paid. As a result, House Majority Leader Lynn Kessler and Sen. Jeanne Kohl-Welles, in January, will rally for legislation that allows citizens charged with convictions the right to vote despite unpaid restitution or court fees, according to the Olympian. The two lawmakers are unsure of a victory considering the upcoming election season as Rep. Kessler said it will be a "difficult issue for my [Democratic] caucus." "The bottom line with my bill is that ... people not in prison, after meeting residency requirements and following registration procedures, would be eligible to vote," Kohl-Welles was quoted as saying in the Ballard News-Tribune. - - - - - - Help The Sentencing Project continue to bring you news and updates on disenfranchisement! Make a contribution today. Contact Information: email: [email protected], web: http://www.sentencingproject.org

Washington: Supreme Court Says No Payment, No Voting Rights The state Supreme Court just released its decision upholding state law that says those with felony convictions must pay all fines and court fees before voting rights are restored, according to a Seattle Times news analysis by David Postman. The lawsuit, originally filed by local lawyers and the state ACLU in 2004, challenged the constitutionality of Washington's voting regulations and argued discrimination on the basis of wealth. The majority opinion, written by Justice Mary Fairhurst reads: "We hold that Washington's disenfranchisement scheme does not violate the privileges and immunities clause of the Washington Constitution or the equal protection clause of the United States Constitution. Washington's statutory disenfranchisement scheme provides for the restoration of voting rights to felons on equal terms - that is, only after individuals have satisfied all of the terms of their sentences." In 2002, the Department of Correction reported an estimated 46,500 residents who were banned from voting due to financial obligations. A Seattle Post- Intelligencer editorial stated its disappointment in the Court's 6-3 decision. The editorial board said Chief Justice Gerry Alexander's dissent ought to be required reading for legislators: "As a society, we should encourage rather than discourage felons to rehabilitate themselves," Alexander wrote. The editorial board further commented on the collateral consequences of sentencing by stating, "The Legislature would rather drop any issue that could make it look soft on crime. But the problem is that the issue matters precisely because so many poor and minority citizens have been prosecuted for drug offenses (instead of receiving treatment). The intent never was to permanently bar them from full participation in society." Wisconsin: Summit Addresses Need for Right to Vote The ACLU of Wisconsin and the local chapter of the NAACP at a summit last week said if individuals were given the right to vote upon release from prison, crime would go down, prisons would be less crowded and community participation would increase. The two groups are supporting legislation that would change the state's current law that bans individuals from voting until parole and/or probation are completed. The summit featured various experts and policymakers including State Rep. Tamara Grigsby, State Sen. Spencer Coggs and professor of law at the University of Chicago Randolph Stone. Grigsby said the bill is unlikely to pass the Republican-controlled Assembly this session, the Shepherd-Express reported. - - - - - - Help The Sentencing Project continue to bring you news and updates on disenfranchisement! Make a contribution today. Contact Information: email: [email protected], web: http://www.sentencingproject.org

Maryland: On the Right Path - Finally According to the Sentinel, a weekly Montgomery County-based newspaper, legislators like Del. Jolene Ivey hope that Maryland's new law lifting the voting ban for formerly incarcerated individuals may boost voter participation in the state. "It's so difficult to get people to vote," she said. "I don't think it's right to bar a few people from voting." On July 1 Maryland law restored the voting rights to 52,000 Maryland citizens with past felony convictions. It also allows them to vote once released from prison. Terry Lierman, chairman of the Maryland Democratic Party, said the bill dispels a history of racism and disenfranchisement. "I say it is time to lift that cloud and create some hope and reason to the process once again," he said. National: Uninformed, Eligible Voters Simply Can't Vote As a result of changing laws and misinformation provided - or not provided - by state officials, formerly incarcerated individuals eligible to vote aren't privy to the laws, according to OpEdNews.com. "In some cases, released ex-felons are not routinely informed regarding the steps necessary to regain their right to vote and often believe? incorrectly? that they can never vote again." The article also notes that financial barriers and a lack of political representation may keep individuals from the vote restoration process. - - - - - - Help The Sentencing Project continue to bring you news and updates on disenfranchisement! Make a contribution today. Contact Information: Email: [email protected], web: http://www.sentencingproject.org

New York: Disenfranchisement and the Legacy of Slavery Last month, the New York State Assembly passed a bill apologizing for slavery in an effort to acknowledge the state's hand in the nation's unfortunate legacy which, amongst many other things, restricted black people from the polls - and continues to do so, according to an op-ed by Te-Ping Chen and Maggie Williams. New York law currently bans those incarcerated and on parole from voting. Hayden v. Pataki, a New York case brought before the U.S. Court of Appeals to overturn the current law, was unsuccessful. The court dismissed the case in February 2005 concluding that "Congress did not intend the Voting Rights Act to cover such [felon disenfranchisement] provisions" and that such an application "would alter the constitutional balance between the States and the Federal Government." The NAACP Legal Defense Fund and the Community Service Society urged the Court to reconsider its decision last January. For coverage, see the Gotham Gazette. - - - - - - Help The Sentencing Project continue to bring you news and updates on disenfranchisement! Make a contribution today. Contact Information: [email protected], http://www.sentencingproject.org

Wisconsin: Grandmother's Voter Fraud Conviction Upheld The U.S. Seventh Circuit Court of Appeals in Chicago last week upheld Kimberly Prude's voter fraud conviction, the Milwaukee Journal Sentinel reported. Prude, a grandmother of three on state supervised probation, cast an absentee ballot in the 2004 presidential election. When she realized her 2000 conviction banned her from voting under Wisconsin law until her entire sentence was completed, she tried to rescind her vote but was told by an election commission employee that it wasn't necessary, she said. Prude is expected to be released in the fall. International: Voting Rights of Inmates Challenged in Australia High Court An ongoing debate on who has the right to decide which citizens vote will soon be addressed as a law banning inmates' right to vote is being challenged in Australia's High Court, according to The Law Report. Last year the federal government tightened up voter registration rules which banned all prisoners from voting. Vicki Lee Roach, an inmate in a Melbourne jail, is arguing that the Commonwealth Electoral Act provisions barring those in prison from voting in federal elections are unconstitutional. The Court will make its decision in a few months. - - - - - - Help The Sentencing Project continue to bring you news and updates on disenfranchisement! Make a contribution today. Contact Information: Email: [email protected], web: http://www.sentencingproject.org.

Florida: Number of Disenfranchised May Dwindle Down by Presidential Election The Florida Parole Commission has reviewed more than 21,000 cases and restored the voting rights of 15,500 people who could not previously vote as a result of a felony record. Those whose rights were not restored were due to relocation from the state, a re-arrest, outstanding restitution fees and death, according to the Associated Press. In April the Clemency Board ruled that individuals with a non-violent criminal record could vote after completing their sentence. The state's Department of Corrections is loaning 100 employees a week to the Parole Commission to speed up the restoration process as Gov. Charlie Crist hopes the effort is completed before the presidential primary. Muslima Lewis, an American Civil Liberties Union of Florida attorney who oversees the group's voting rights and civil justice projects, said though she's happy to see progress, "15,500 is still a drop in the bucket when you look at the entire population of former offenders whose civil rights have not been restored." More than 1 million people are disenfranchised in Florida. A 75-year-old Florida man charged with a felony 25 years ago was charged last week with an election code violation and arrested for allegedly continuing to cast his ballot in every mid-term and presidential election from 1984 to 2000. The arrest resulted from a 2005 clemency investigation for the restoration of Miller's civil rights, including his right to vote, the Treasure Coast reported. National: Disenfranchised Vote Viewed as a 'Sleeping Giant' Michael Fauntroy, assistant professor of public policy at George Mason University and author of "Republicans and the Black Vote," analyzed the historical and conservative view behind voter disenfranchisement - particularly concerning the African-American vote. In the Huffington Post Fauntroy wrote: "African Americans and other minorities around the country are having a difficult time voting and being certain that their votes are counted. That conservatives see the black vote as a sleeping giant in American politics is proven by the lengths to which they go to lock out of the system as many people as possible. The Republican Party has spent millions in support of purge programs and 'electoral integrity' schemes with the only real purpose being to reduce the number of African Americans that vote. This money is spent because the party understands the arithmetic of black political power and the disproportionate impact African Americans can have in deciding who wins presidential general election states such as Florida, Georgia, Mississippi, and South Carolina." - - - - - - Help The Sentencing Project continue to bring you news and updates on disenfranchisement! Make a contribution today. Contact Information: email: [email protected], web: http://www.sentencingproject.org

Wisconsin: Media Support for Re-enfranchisement As Wisconsin is in the midst of charging a handful of formerly incarcerated individuals with voter fraud, a Wisconsin Journal Sentinel editorial stated that permitting voting by people released from prison would help integrate them back into society, streamline the administration of elections, promote democracy and provide law enforcement more opportunity to enforce more pressing issues. Further, the editorial asserted that "disenfranchisement laws compound the racial imbalance. They sap the political strength of black Wisconsin." Wisconsin law currently bans individuals from voting until parole and probation are completed. Arizona: Voting Ban Challenged in Federal Lawsuit The American Civil Liberties Union this week filed a federal lawsuit challenging Arizona's voting ban which denies the right to vote to people with felony convictions who have not paid financial penalties associated with the conviction, according to the Arizona Republic. In Coronado v. Napolitano, the organization says the ban is akin to a modern "poll tax" and constitutes a violation of the 14th Amendment. The ACLU has targeted similar laws across the nation, including a Washington State lower court ruling which is now pending in the state Supreme Court. "Throughout recent years, it has become common practice for states to expand the list of disfranchising felonies, and the end result is that thousands of people are losing their political voice and being deliberately shut out of the democratic process," said Nancy Abudu, staff attorney with the ACLU National Voting Rights Project in Atlanta. For more coverage, see VoteLaw.com and Ballot-Access. National: Disenfranchisement - The Modern-Day Poll Tax An article by Erika Wood and Neema Trivedi of the Brennan Center for Justice , entitled "The Modern- Day Poll Tax: How Economic Sanctions Block Access to the Polls," has just been published in the Clearinghouse Review. The article details the over two-centuries-old tradition of disenfranchisement and how it became a practice in targeting formerly incarcerated individuals. "The spread of felony disenfranchisement laws in the late 1800s was part of a larger backlash against the adoption of the Reconstruction Amendments. Despite newfound eligibility, many freedmen remained practically disenfranchised as a result of organized efforts to prevent them from voting," the article states. The article reviews in detail Equal Rights legal challenges, the various types of economic sanctions and the racial impact of disenfranchisement. Alabama: Decision Set Aside, but Disenfranchised Still Have a Chance Judge Robert Vance's August decision lifting the post- sentence voting ban for all Alabamians was set aside by the Alabama Supreme Court last week, the Associated Press reported. In a prior ruling, Judge Vance held that a state constitutional amendment denying voting rights to persons convicted of crimes of moral turpitude does not sufficiently identify all crimes which fit that definition, according to the Decatur Daily. Judge Vance felt that this ambiguity was impermissible and ruled that all persons should be allowed to vote upon completion of sentence until the state legislature specifies exactly what offense types are classified as crimes of moral turpitude. This week, the Supreme Court held that the August ruling "exceeded its authority" by recasting the character and substance of the case into "forbidden territory of the abstract and hypothetical." Although the Supreme Court ruling may initially appear as a setback to voting rights advocates, it provides important clarification regarding the responsibility of state officials to permit persons to register to vote if they have been convicted of certain felony offenses that have not been defined as crimes of moral turpitude. These include: felony DUI, felony possession of drugs, violation of liquor laws, assault and battery, speeding, trespass to land, attempted burglary, doing business without a license and aiding a prisoner to escape. The practice by the previous Secretary of State, which called for the denial of voting rights to persons convicted of all types of felonies, was the original catalyst for the lawsuit. "Now we have a ruling requiring state officials to follow the law and permit eligible felons to vote," stated the NAACP Legal Defense Fund, which filed the suit along with attorney Ed Still. - - - - - - Help The Sentencing Project continue to bring you news and updates on disenfranchisement! Make a contribution today. Contact Information: Email: [email protected] Web: http://www.sentencingproject.org

Texas: Bill Notifying Formerly Incarcerated Individuals of Restored Voting Status Vetoed Republican Governor Rick Perry this week vetoed bipartisan legislation notifying individuals when they become eligible to vote and sending them a voter registration card, according to a Pegasus News editorial. Perry's reasoning behind the veto was that high school students are not notified of their eligibility; he added that it wasn't the mission of the state's Department of Criminal Justice to send voter registration applications. Debating that stance, the publication responded that high school students do, in fact, receive voter registration applications in government classes, in addition to receiving them when applying for driver's licenses. "The state took away the right to vote for felons, so it's not unreasonable to expect the state to give notice when the right is restored." International: Request for Hearing before Inter-American Commission The Sentencing Project and the International Human Rights Law Clinic at American University's Washington College of Law have issued a report, Barriers to Democracy, that requests a hearing on the issue of felony disenfranchisement before the Inter- American Commission on Human Rights. The report examines the practice of felony disenfranchisement in the United States and the nations of the Americas, and finds that the U.S. is far out of line with evolving international norms in this regard. The report concludes that "the time is long overdue for the United States to follow the lead of its hemispheric neighbors and the broader international community, uphold treaties to which the United States is obligated, and take steps toward universal suffrage by reforming its criminal disenfranchisement policies." The request for a hearing has been endorsed by a broad range of civil rights and human rights organizations and individual leaders. These include NAACP Chair Julian Bond, American Bar Association, ACLU, Brennan Center for Justice, and many others. - - - - - - Help The Sentencing Project continue to bring you news and updates on disenfranchisement! Make a contribution today. Contact Information: Email: [email protected] web: http://www.sentencingproject.org

Florida: Still Work to Do Though Gov. Charlie Crist's Clemency Board reinstated voting rights to non-violent offenders last month, the task is "not complete," Mark Schlakman wrote in the Orlando Sentinel. Schlakman's op-ed pointed to a letter Sen. Al Lawson (D-Tallahassee) addressed to Gov. Crist asking for his legislative action "to remove what appears to be a major obstacle to more substantial rights restoration reform by passing a bill to implement [former Gov. Jeb Bush's] Ex-Offender Task Force recommendations to separate employment and licensing from rights restoration." Schlakman said state agencies and boards are "well positioned" to set up eligibility requirements to facilitate job placement for formerly incarcerated individuals and address public safety concerns. "Once employment eligibility issues are redirected and properly addressed, the path to more comprehensive rights restoration reform would no longer be onerous," Schlakman stated. Wisconsin: Individuals on Parole and Probation Charged with Vote Fraud The Milwaukee Journal Sentinel is diligently covering the stories of those who have been charged with voter fraud as a result of voting while on probation, parole or extended state supervision. These individuals include a 43-year-old grandmother whose first vote in the 2004 presidential election was deemed fraudulent, and who received a two-year prison sentence. In Wisconsin, citizens are banned from voting until probation and parole sentences have been completed. The cases were brought up in the aftermath of the close presidential election in 2004, according to the Journal Sentinel. In 2005, Republican officials challenged the legitimacy of 5,600 addresses in the state. Ultimately, 14 cases were brought; six were dismissed before trial and five resulted in convictions to date. The Journal Sentinel also reported that State Rep. Joe Parisi (D- Madison) proposed this week to change state law to re-enfranchise citizens after release from prison or jail. "One of our biggest challenges in corrections is reducing recidivism, and one of the most important aspects of this process is reintegrating a person back into mainstream society after they leave prison," Parisi said in a statement. "Restoring a person's voting rights is one tool we can use to help us reach that goal." For more coverage, see the Journal Sentinel. - - - - - - Help The Sentencing Project continue to bring you news and updates on disenfranchisement! Make a contribution today. Contact Information: Email: [email protected] web: http://www.sentencingproject.org

National: It's Right to Grant Citizens the Right to Vote The Sentencing Project's Director of Advocacy, Kara Gotsch, wrote an op-ed in the Washington Post in support of Maryland's recent move to reform the state's disenfranchisement policies. She wrote: "The scarlet 'F' worn by millions of Americans because of past felony convictions faded for some on April 24 as 52,000 citizens who live in Maryland regained their right to vote. For many people returning from prison, basic human needs, such as food and shelter, take priority over voting rights, but civic engagement is a crucial next step that influences the likelihood of successful reintegration and rehabilitation. Research shows that, among those who have been arrested, 27 percent of nonvoters were re-arrested, compared with 12 percent of voters. Voting promotes public safety because people who vote feel more connected to their communities and avoid falling back into crime." Pennsylvania: Disenfranchisement is an 'Iffy Proposition' "You see, in the United States, if you've committed a felony, voting is an iffy proposition," writes Philadelphia Inquirer columnist Annette John- Hall. Stating the advantages of re-enfranchisement, including decreasing recidivism rates and civic responsibility, John-Hall applauded Pennsylvania's disenfranchisement laws which allow those on probation and parole to vote. She also frowned upon the states that do not have such provisions and listed the cons of banning formerly incarcerated individuals from voting. The columnist focused on Reggie Henderson, operator of three barber shops in the state. Henderson, a formerly incarcerated African-American male who voted last week for the first time since being released from prison, noted that the mayoral primary was so important that "You've got no choice but to pay attention to it." See the Philadelphia Inquirer. Virginia: In Opposition to Reenfranchisement A reader submitted a letter to the editor in opposition to a (Newport News, Va.) Daily Press re- enfranchisement editorial. The reader, who identified himself as a crime victim wrote, "society's debt isn't paid until a felon has satisfied all of his victims for their tangible losses and mental anguish - and has publicly shown that he has truly turned his life around." International: Individuals Allowed to Vote in Iceland Prison Persons incarcerated in south Iceland's maximum security prison Litla-Hraun in were allowed to vote this week, according to the Iceland Review. Forty-two of 65 eligible voters, or 65 percent, chose to cast a ballot. Of the 77 individuals serving a sentence in Litla-Hraun, 12 are foreign citizens who were not eligible to vote. - - - - - - Help The Sentencing Project continue to bring you news and updates on disenfranchisement! Make a contribution today. Contact Information Email: [email protected] web: http://www.sentencingproject.org