The Democracy Restoration Act: Restoring the Right to Vote to Formerly Incarcerated Citizens

December 3, 2009
Voting Rights & Elections
Restoring Voting Rights

View Invitation Here

A CONGRESSIONAL BRIEFING FOR MEMBERS AND STAFF

Friday, December 11, 2009

1:00-2:30 PM

Dirksen Senate Office Building, Room 226

Moderator:

             Erika Wood, Deputy Director, Brennan Center for Justice

Panel:

Ronald Hampton, Executive Director, National Black Police Association
Kimberly Haven, Executive Director, Justice Maryland
Hilary O. Shelton, Director, NAACP Washington Bureau
Rev. Dr. H. David Schuringa, President, Crossroads Bible Institute

Sponsored by:

  • American Bar Association
  • American Civil Liberties Union
  • Brennan Center for Justice
  • The Drug Policy Alliance
  • The Sentencing Project

An estimated 5.3 million American citizens cannot vote because of a criminal conviction. Of these, 4 million are out of prison and living and working in the community. Restoring a person’s right to vote is a critical element to successful reentry into society after incarceration and consistent with our democracy’s modern ideal of universal suffrage.

Please join a panel discussion exploring this issue and its impact, as well as ways to address it through the Democracy Restoration Act, S.1516 and H.R.3335. This legislation would restore the right to vote in federal elections to people who are out of prison and living in the community.