Voting After Criminal Conviction | 2010 Spring Update
As we gear up for a busy spring and summer, here is a brief update on some of our recent work to restore voting rights to people with criminal convictions.
In this newsletter:
Democracy Restoration Act Congressional Hearing
Ninth Circuit Victory & Other Litigation News
Alan Alda reads from My First Vote
Jim Crow in New York
In February, we released a new report, Jim Crow in New York, including a powerful introduction by Harvard Law Professor Charles J. Ogletree, Jr. The report traces the history of New York's criminal disenfranchisement law, revealing its roots firmly planted in some of the most discriminatory voting barriers to exist in our country.
On March 2, in partnership with the Fortune Society, we held a lively public discussion about the report at the Schomburg Center for Research in Black Culture. Attended by more than 300 people, the discussion included Rev. Dr. Calvin O. Butts III from the Abyssinian Baptist Church of the City of New York, Hazel Dukes from the NAACP New York State Conference, Glenn Martin from the Fortune Society, and Columbia Law Professor Theodore Shaw. Erika Wood also spoke about the report's findings on WNYC's Brian Lehrer show and published an op-ed in the Albany Times Union. The report was also featured in The New York Times. We look forward to capitalizing on the energy generated from the event as we work to restore voting rights in New York.
Democracy Restoration Act Congressional Hearing
During the past few months, there has been great progress on the Democracy Restoration Act (DRA), a federal bill sponsored by Sen. Russ Feingold and Rep. John Conyers that seeks to restore voting rights in federal elections to nearly 4 million American citizens who are out of prison and living in the community. 
On March 16, the House Judiciary Subcommittee on the Constitution, Civil Rights and Civil Liberties held a hearing on the DRA. Witnesses included Brennan Center Legal Director and NYU Law Professor Burt Neuborne; Andres Idarraga, a Yale law student who voted for the first time in 2008 after having his voting rights restored; Ion Sancho, Supervisor for Elections in Leon County, Florida; Hilary O. Shelton Director of the NAACP's Washington Bureau; and Carl Wicklund, Executive Director of the American Probation and Parole Association and member of the Brennan Center Law Enforcement and Criminal Justice Advisory Council.
The hearing generated a lot of media attention, including a New York Times editorial, posts in The Hill's Congress Blog and Daily Kos, and articles in The Huffington Post, The American Prospect, Wall Street Journal, and Miami Herald, among others. View all recent press on the Democracy Restoration Act.
In December 2009, we worked with our partners to brief Senate staff on the DRA. The briefing, moderated by Erika Wood, featured Ronald Hampton from the National Black Police Association, Kimberly Haven from Justice Maryland, David Schuringa from the Crossroad Bible Institute, and Hilary Shelton from the NAACP. The day before the briefing, our allies in the civil and voting rights, criminal justice and law enforcement, and faith communities submitted letters to members of Congress urging passage of the Democracy Restoration Act. Thank you to the many of you who signed on to one or more of these letters.
If you would like more information on the Democracy Restoration Act or are interested in getting involved, please contact us.
State Reforms
As the new year approached, the Brennan Center worked with our national partners and local allies in Virginia to persuade outgoing Governor Tim Kaine to issue an executive order restoring voting rights to 
over 300,00 Virginians who have completed their sentence. Despite having the legal authority to issue such an executive order, Governor Kaine left office on January 16 without doing so. Nevertheless, the efforts garnered a lot of attention, including favorable editorials in the Washington Post and the Daily News Leader (subscription required), an op-ed by Erika Wood in the Richmond Times-Dispatch, and a letter by the VA ACLU in the Roanoke Times.
In January, outgoing New Jersey Governor Jon Corzine signed into law the Fair Release and Reentry Act of 2009. This Act includes a variety of provisions to facilitate successful re-entry including a requirement that the Corrections Commission provide inmates with written information on voting rights restoration. The new law was featured in a New York Times editorial.
Please contact us with advocacy updates or if there are opportunities to restore voting rights in your state.
Victory in the Ninth Circuit & Other Litigation News
In early January, the Ninth Circuit held in Farrakhan v. Gregoire that Washington's law violates Section 2 of the Voting Rights Act (VRA). The decision is the first in the country to find that due to racial discrimination in the state's criminal justice system, the felony disenfranchisement law results in the denial of the right to vote on account of race. Congratulations to NAACP-LDF and Gonzaga Law School on this tremendous victory. For more information and updates on the case, click here and here.
In October 2009, oral arguments were heard by the Ninth Circuit in Coronado v. Brewer, a case brought by the ACLU that challenges Arizona's law that requires people who have completed their criminal sentence to pay all fees, fines and restitution before being eligible to vote. For more information, click here.
Alan Alda Reads from My First Vote
At the Brennan Center's annual Legacy Awards Dinner, Emmy Award-winning actor Alan Alda read excerpts from My First Vote, a compilation of stories of individuals who cast their vote for the first time in November 2008 after having their rights restored. The stories were well received by the crowd of over 600 people, including Attorney General Eric Holder, Jr. View Mr. Alda's reading here.
We would love to hear from you with any updates or news (click to email). We thank you for your support and look forward to continuing our partnership.
