National Latino Congreso Resolution

WHEREAS an estimated 5.3 million Americans are barred from voting because of a felony conviction and nearly 4 million of these disenfranchised citizens are out of prison and are living, working, and raising families in our communities with no voice in the way their lives are governed; and

WHEREAS thirty-five states continue to disenfranchise people with felony convictions who are out of prison and living in the community, and two of these states permanently disenfranchise individuals with felony convictions for life; and

WHEREAS fourteen states already automatically restore voting rights upon release from prison; and

WHEREAS in two states, Maine and Vermont, people never lose the right to vote as the result of a felony conviction; and

WHEREAS felony disenfranchisement laws have a disproportionate impact on Latino communities and the voting strength of the Latinos suffers as a result; and

WHEREAS the history of American democracy has been a steady expansion of the eligible electorate; and

WHEREAS the hallmark of a democratic government is that it reflects the views of the governed and those views are most readily expressed through the ballot box; and

WHEREAS bringing people into the political process makes them stakeholders in the community and helps steer former offenders away from future crimes, thereby protecting public safety; and

WHEREAS restoring voting rights helps to rebuild families and empower communities; and

WHEREAS laws that continue to disenfranchise people after prison are expensive and difficult to administer, generate needless confusion among election officials and the public, and create the opportunity for erroneous purges of eligible voters from the voting rolls; and

WHEREAS continued disenfranchisement of people after release from prison places the United States at odds with the vast majority of the world’s modern democracies;

1. THEREFORE BE IT RESOLVED that the organizations represented by delegates of the 2007 National Latino Congreso endorse the automatic restoration of voting rights to individuals with felony convictions upon their release from prison; and

2. FURTHER BE IT RESOLVED that the organizations represented by delegates of the 2007 National Latino Congreso call on the legislators from those thirty-five states that continue to disenfranchise individuals who are living and working in the community to enact legislation that will automatically restore voting rights upon release from prison; and

3. FURTHER BE IT RESOLVED that the organizations represented by delegates of the 2007 National Latino Congreso pledge to support federal legislation that will automatically restore voting rights after release from prison on a national level.