Publications
Voting After Criminal Conviction
Executive Orders
Today in Albany, the group Reinvent Albany, New York Public Interest Research Group, Brennan Center for Justice at NYU Law School, and Center for Research, Regional Education and Outreach (CRREO) at SUNY New Paltz released their report Executive Orders: Actions the Governor can take to make New York government more open, accountable and democratic.
The report includes eleven model executive orders that Governor-elect Andrew Cuomo can use to open up New York State government, increase the accountability of state agencies and reduce barriers to voting. An executive order is a governor’s declaration which has the force of law, and does not require legislation to take effect. The orders are centered on the basic goal of empowering the citizenry with more and better information about what its government is doing, and how it is spending tax payer dollars.
Authored by: Gerald Benjamin, Blair Horner, John Kaehny, and Lawrence Norden
– 11/23/10
Jim Crow in New York
Authored by: Erika Wood and Liz Budnitz
with Garima Malhotra
introduction by Charles Ogletree
– 02/12/10
My First Vote
My First Vote is a compilation of stories from people across the country who voted for the first time in November 2008 after having lost, and then regained, their right to vote following a criminal conviction.
Authored by: The Right to Vote Project
– 07/05/09
Restoring the Right to Vote
Despite a history of expanding the franchise, there remains one significant blanket barrier to the franchise. 5.3 million American citizens are not allowed to vote because of a felony conviction. As many as 4 million of these people live in our communities, but are still denied the right to vote because of a prior conviction.
Authored by: Erika Wood
– 05/11/09
Smart on Crime
Transition Document: A coalition of more than 20 organizations, including the Brennan Center for Justice, and individuals created this publication of a catalogue of key criminal justice issues and policy recommendations for the next administration and congress.
Authored by: Criminal Justice Transition Coalition
– 11/06/08
De Facto Disenfranchisement
This report by the ACLU and the Brennan Center for Justice reveals widespread misunderstanding among state election officials of laws governing the right to vote of citizens with felony convictions. They receive little or no training on these laws, and there is little or no coordination between election offices and the criminal justice system. These factors, coupled with complex laws and complicated registration procedures, result in the mass dissemination of inaccurate and misleading information, which in turn leads to the de facto disenfranchisement of untold hundreds of thousands of eligible would-be voters.
Authored by: Erika Wood and Rachel Bloom
– 10/01/08
An Agenda for Election Reform
This memorandum sets out a comprehensive election reform agenda for the 110th Congress and explains the reasons for each policy reform.
Authored by: Wendy R. Weiser and Jonah Goldman
– 03/07/07
An Agenda for Americas Voters: Election Reform in the 110th Congress
This federal election reform agenda is the product of years of research and experience by the civil rights, voting rights, civic participation, and progressive advocacy community.
Authored by: Brennan Center for Justice & Allies
– 02/15/07
Executive Summary of Brennan Center & Demos Report on the NY Board of Elections
A survey of 63 local election boards found that more than one-third of local boards, including four in New York City, are disenfranchising former prisoners and probationers who are eligible to register and vote under state law. These results repeat the widespread errors exposed in a 2003 Brennan Center and Legal Action Center survey.
– 03/15/06
Brennan Center and Demos Report on State Board of Elections Illegal Disenfranchisement of NY Voters
A recent survey of county election officials found that more than one-third of New Yorks 63 local election boards, including those in three New York City boroughs, continue to unlawfully disfranchise eligible voters with felony convictions. Despite previous advocacy efforts, election officials persist in misapplying the law, resulting in the illegal disfranchisement of potentially thousands of eligible voters.
– 03/15/06