The Sentencing Project -- Disenfranchisement: News/Updates 6/12/08

Rhode Island: The Payoffs of Voting, Education Andres Idarraga has been accepted to Yale Law School - ten years after the Rhode Island Adult Correctional Institution accepted him into its system for a cocaine conviction. Idarraga, who graduated this year from Brown University, has since become a prominent advocate for restoring the right to vote to thousands of persons disenfranchised in Rhode Island because of a felony conviction. As a result of his and others' efforts, Rhode Island law was reformed in 2006 and now allows individuals with felony convictions to vote immediately after being released from prison. Now, Idarraga will further hone his legal talents at Yale. "I ... realized that the odds against an ex-offender can be very high, particularly if he or she is reaching for the stars," said Yale graduate and Corrections Director A.T. Wall, who personally drove Idarraga to New Haven for an interview with the law school's dean. "There was no doubt in my mind that Andres had the ability, the intellect and the drive to succeed in law school." Mississippi: Giving Reenfranchisement a "More Serious Look" Mississippi should reconsider its current disenfranchisement policies and reenfranchisement procedures, according to an opinion editorial written by the publisher of the Greenwood Commonwealth. Though Tim Kalich states that overall voter participation of all state residents should be the main concern, he writes that for the 150,000 formerly incarcerated individuals who want to vote, the process should be made less time- consuming and cumbersome. "While most of these former felons don't care, a segment does feel that it is being punished in perpetuity by being barred from the voting booth," he stated. National: "Unfairly Punished Twice" Numerous elections in the nation could have had different outcomes if citizens with felony convictions had the opportunity to vote, according to an opinion editorial written by Sonata Lee. Published in the Huffington Post, Lee's op-ed questions the policy of disenfranchisement and the dramatic variation of disenfranchisement laws across the nation. She further states that formerly incarcerated individuals are "punished twice." "America is a country that prides itself on being a democracy yet we allow millions of our citizens -- those who could benefit the most from being active in our political process -- to be disenfranchised," she stated. "Overly punitive legislation and a devastating war on drugs have resulted in the disenfranchisement of 5.3 million people who are unable to vote in this country because of a felony conviction." - - - - - - 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