Voting After Criminal Conviction | 2009 Summer Update
We hope that you enjoyed your summer and found some time to take a break. Even in these quiet summer months, there has been some exciting progress in the effort to restore voting rights to people with criminal histories. Here is a brief update of our efforts in partnership with many of you.
Democracy Restoration Act
My First Vote
Victory in Washington
Additional State Reforms
Democracy Restoration Act
On July 24, 2009, Senator Russ Feingold (D-WI) and Representative John Conyers (D-MI) introduced the Democracy Restoration Act of 2009 (DRA), a bill that seeks to restore voting rights in federal elections to nearly 4 million American citizens with past criminal convictions who are out of prison and living in the community. "The expansion of voting rights to the poor, women, minorities and young people is one of the greatest stories in our country's history. We should continue this legacy by expanding the right to vote to those who have fully paid their debt to society," stated Senator Feingold.
There is a growing and diverse coalition of groups and individuals supporting the legislation. The bill's introduction has garnered some interesting media coverage. Erika Wood recently wrote about the bill on the Huffington Post and The Grio. Favorable pieces have appeared in The Daily Kos, The American Prospect, The Institute for Southern Studies, and The Detroit Free Press. Additional press coverage of the DRA can be found here.
If you would like to receive email updates about the DRA, and/or if you would like to work with us to support this legislation, please contact Garima Malhotra (garima.malhotra@nyu.edu). Also, if you have not already, please contact Garima to add your organization to one or more of the letters of support that we will be sending to Congress shortly.
My First Vote
In June, the Brennan Center released My First Vote, a compilation of stories from Americans who voted for the first time in November 2008 after having lost, and then regained, their voting rights after a conviction. These new voters tell inspiring stories that explain what the right to vote really means in people's lives. We hope that you will help us make these voices heard by sharing these stories with your allies, clients and constituents, and with policymakers and opinion leaders throughout the country. Contact us to request a copy of My First Vote.
Victory in Washington
In May, Washington streamlined one of the most complicated restoration procedures in the country and eliminated the requirement that people pay all fees, fines and restitution before being eligible to vote. "The right to vote in Washington will no longer hinge on one's ability to pay," explained Erika Wood in The Hill Blog.
A well-organized and diverse coalition, including many of our partners in the law enforcement, criminal justice and faith communities, was critical to the bill's success. One of our faith convening participants, Reverend Jimmie James, testified before the legislature and another, Reverend Paul Benz, Director of the Lutheran Public Policy Office of Washington State, lobbied heavily for the bill in Olympia. The American Probation and Parole Association and the National Black Police Association wrote to the Governor urging her to sign the legislation. Then-Seattle Police Chief R. Gil Kerlikowske (now President Obama's Drug Czar) and Sheriff John Lovick from Snohomish County wrote a joint op-ed in favor of the legislation, and prepared a statement of support for the Washington Association of Sheriffs and Police Chiefs. These combined efforts bore fruit and three former police officers now in the legislature changed their vote to support the new law.
Washington advocates have launched a "Promote the Vote" campaign to educate the public about the new law.
Additional State Reforms
A total of 79 bills were introduced in 25 states during the 2009 legislative session. Bills seeking to restore voting rights to people with felony convictions were introduced in 15 states; bills seeking to provide notice to individuals about their right to vote were introduced in 9 states; and bills decreasing the legal financial obligations individuals have to pay in order to be restored the right to vote were introduced in 2 states. A complete summary of the 2009 state legislative sessions is available here.
In April, Erika Wood testified with Glenn Martin from the Fortune Society and retired Brooklyn Parole Bureau Chief Leonard Marks before the New York Senate Elections Committee in support of Senate Bill 1266, a bill that provides notice to individuals about their voting rights once they regain eligibility. The companion bill passed the Assembly in June.
Bills in Pennsylvania and Wisconsin are still pending for the 2009 legislative session. Pennsylvania's H.B. 1072 requires the Pennsylvania Department of Corrections to make voter registration applications available to administrators at every institution and requires that voters be provided with a voter registration application upon release from prison. The Wisconsin Democracy Restoration Act, introduced in July, seeks to restore voting rights to over 41,000 Wisconsin citizens who are out of prison, living in the community. The bill has already attracted attention, including this positive piece by a well-known conservative columnist in the Waukesha Freeman. In late August, the Wisconsin Assembly held a four-hour hearing where nearly 30 witnesses testified in support of the bill. The American Probation and Parole Association (APPA) submitted a letter in support and APPA member Terry Marshall, President of Wisconsin's Council on Community Corrections and ATTIC Correctional Services, appeared in person to testify in favor of the bill. A Senate hearing is scheduled for October.
Please contact us with legislative updates or if there are opportunities to restore voting rights in your state. Thank you for your support. We look forward to our continued partnership.
