Back in the early 1980's the Committee to Abolish Prison Slavery was the only organization that even dared to register prisoners and ex prisoners in Washington, D.C. and California to vote. It's a long story, but suffice it to say that now, twenty five years later, well funded organizations have made gains toward enfranchising ex-prison slaves.
LW
April 06, 2007
Disenfranchisement News
Florida: Governor, Board of Clemency Restores Voting Rights for Thousands
Colorado: Parolees Closer to Restoration Status
Maryland: State So Close to Restoring Vote; Opponents Say Too Close
Rhode Island: Progressive Advocacy Spreads Across Nation
Issue Area(s): Felony Disenfranchisement
State(s): Florida, Colorado , Maryland, Rhode Island
Florida: Governor, Board of Clemency Restores Voting Rights for Thousands
Republican Governor Charlie Crist and the Board of Executive Clemency this week restored voting rights for most formerly incarcerated persons in a 3-1 vote. Attorney General Bill McCollum was the sole vote against the issue. Earlier this week, Gov. Crist and McCollum each wrote opinion editorials on the legislation as the issue received much national media coverage, including NBC's Today Show in anticipation of Thursday's decision.
The Florida ACLU released a statement prior to the vote explaining the importance of not adding stipulations that would further disenfranchise voters, including the requirement that individuals pay restitution before rights restoration.
Will Sharp is one of scores of people who can now vote and acquire an occupational license as a result of the recent decision. “I'm ecstatic I can vote now. It's a cornerstone of democracy to be able to vote and not being able to do so is ridiculous," Sharp, who spent 14 years in federal prison, told the Bradenton Herald. The article also noted that the change, which takes effect immediately, will assign the Parole Commission to review the list for initial eligibility which includes sentence and probation completion, paid victim restitution and no pending cases. Prior to the decision, individuals had to request restoration of civil rights from the clemency board, which meets only four times a year and had a large backlog of people waiting to be heard.
The policy adopted by the board includes a prohibition on automatic restoration for people convicted of certain violent and other crimes. For an overview of the new standards, see the Palm Beach Post, as well as additional coverage in the New York Times and the Miami Herald.
Colorado: Parolees Closer to Restoration Status
SB 83 – the parolee voting amendment– passed the Colorado Senate on a third reading 21-13 with a bi-partisan vote. A proposed amendment to the budget bill barring the Secretary of State from doing anything to promote parolee voting also was defeated. The issue now goes to the House.
Maryland: State So Close to Restoring Vote; Opponents Say Too Close
Republican leaders have asked Gov. Martin O'Malley to veto several bills, one of which grants voting rights to formerly incarcerated individuals, according to the Baltimore Sun. Western Maryland politicians are also on record opposing SB 488. Gov. O'Malley, however, is on the record in support of vote restoration.
In response to the Maryland developments, the New York Times published an editorial calling voting bans damaging. “These changes have been slow in coming to the Deep South, where felon voting bans were enacted long ago as part of broad plan aimed at diluting black political power,” the editorial asserted.
Rallying behind the legislation, actor/director Charles S. Dutton wrote an op-ed to state the necessities of voting for people with felony convictions: “I am a longtime Maryland citizen, who was once convicted of a crime,” he wrote in the Baltimore Examiner. “I can tell you firsthand that rehabilitating yourself after a criminal conviction is a difficult road to walk. Often, our laws do not help us avoid the ever-present pitfalls of recidivism.” Several additional letters were published in support of the legislation including one from Maryland Democratic Party Chair, Terry Lierman.
SB 488 still awaits the Governor's signature. Contact the governor regarding the support of this legislation via Web site, phone (410.974.3591/1.800.811.8336) or send via U.S. Mail to the Office of the Governor, 100 State Circle, Annapolis, Maryland 21401-1925.
Rhode Island: Progressive Advocacy Spreads Across Nation
Rhode Island's recent approval of vote restoration is an example of a “progressive victory,” according to an article by Nancy Scola on Alternet.org. The efforts of the Family Life Center in Rhode Island in rallying support for disenfranchisement reform was full of challenges, roadblocks and politics. But the Right to Vote Campaign made strides that are already impacting other states' reform efforts including Florida and Colorado. “It's also a case study in ‘impossible' social action. Understanding how Rhode Island activists managed to make social justice a reality is instructive for anyone working for progressive change,” Scola stated.
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