The Sentencing Project -- Disenfranchisement: News/Updates 6/5/08

Puerto Rico: Incarcerated and Politically Active Prior to casting their votes in the Democratic primary politically involved inmates in Puerto Rico were interviewed by the Associated Press at the Correctional Institute 501 in San Juan. "Health plans, education, jobs - these are things I'm counting on when I get out," said 29-year-old Omar Gonzalez. In Puerto Rico the law affords people in prison the right to vote. Yesenia Lociel, a corrections department spokeswoman, said 130 of the 448 medium and maximum-security inmates at the prison asked to vote - a turnout comparable to local primary elections. Though U.S. citizens, Puerto Ricans have no voting representation in Congress and cannot vote for president in the general election. Some of the prisoners, however, said they hope the population at large can have a larger say over national affairs in the future as the U.S. economy affects their progress upon release. Ghana: Ensuring Inmates are Able to Exercise Existing Voting Rights The Commonwealth Human Rights Initiative (CHRI) has asked the Electoral Commission (EC) to facilitate general election voting by inmates within the Ghana Prisons Service. Article 42 of the Constitution states that "every citizen of Ghana of 18 years of age or above and of sound mind has the right to vote and is entitled to be registered as a voter for the purposes of public elections and referenda," and does not disenfranchise incarcerated citizens. Inmates, however, have reportedly not exercised their right to vote. The Chairman of the Electoral Commission, Dr Afari-Gyan, said although it was not the commission's intention to disenfranchise anyone, it did not, by convention, set up polling stations in certain places like prisons. "If the EC takes these steps, then it will demonstrate its commitment to ensuring that Ghanaians who are entitled and eligible to vote exercise their franchise," said CHRI Africa Co-coordinator, Nana Oye Lithur. Mississippi: Individual Re-enfranchisement Bills Must be Sought for Each Citizen "I committed a crime, and I paid my debt to society for that crime by serving time in prison," said Mississippi resident Steven Hubbard. "But when I was released, my punishment didn't end. Being stripped of the right to vote is not fair to convicted felons who pay their debt to society and serve the time given to them by the courts. It's almost like I was exiled from the country. If I can't vote, then I can't be an American, right?" Hubbard is one of Mississippi's 150,000 people who are disenfranchised due to a felony conviction. In Mississippi, after a sentence has been completed, anyone seeking restoration of voting rights must go to their legislator to persuade them to author an individual re-enfranchising bill. Both houses of the Legislature must then pass the bill, and the governor must sign it, according to the Mississippi Daily Journal. Ten to 12 citizens are re-enfranchised in Mississippi each year. Click here to read the article. An opinion editorial commenting on the recent disenfranchisement media coverage called Danza Johnson's Daily Journal report "the most thorough and flushed-out article." Published by the Daily Mississippian, the student newspaper of the University of Mississippi, the op-ed written by Camron Johnson stated that the Daily Journal piece featured proponents, including The Sentencing Project; opponents, including Roger Clegg; and pertinent bureaucrats and statistics from The Sentencing Project. "We have a mushrooming stigmatized class of people, untouchables, who after serving their time and enduring their punishment are never really allowed to return to society at all," Johnson writes. "Proponents of ex-felon voting bans rely on pigeonholing all former felons as uniformly dangerous and humorously intent on somehow using their votes to change the laws they'd break. Some proponents craft a straw man argument - break the law, then suffer the punishment - as if opponents of the bans are suggesting no punishment at all, instead of what they're actually advocating: amending the nature of the punishment." National: National Black Police Association Supports Automatic Vote Restoration with Resolution The National Black Police Association recently voted to approve a resolution in support of the restoration of voting rights. The NBPA is a nationwide organization of African American Police Associations dedicated to the promotion of justice, fairness, and effectiveness in law enforcement. The resolution reads: "Whereas, the NBPA recognizes that denying the franchise to people who are living in the community serves no law enforcement purpose and violates core principles of democracy and equality ... the NBPA believes that barring people from the political process hinders effective policing by undermining the ability for police to build strong community partnerships." Further, the resolution supports automatic restoration upon prison release. West Virginia: Why Not? In the Charleston Gazette's Reader's Voice, a section giving voice to West Virginia residents on various issues, one reader's comment stated: "I can't understand why a person would say a felon shouldn't vote. It is mean and vindictive to hold people's pasts against them. It is not the Christian way. After all, we are all old sinners saved by grace." Disenfranchisement laws in West Virginia ban those from voting until completion of a prison sentence and parole. - - - - - - 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