Felon Disenfranchisement — Civil Society Issues — Galsworthy Criminal Justice Reform Program

Galsworthy Criminal Justice Reform Program

Civil Society Issues

Many issues that are primary drivers of mass incarceration cannot be remedied through government solutions alone. Issues such as broken families and mental health, both forever altered by over criminalization, cannot be simply be repaired through legislation. Civil Society has the unique capability to address certain social issues that government cannot, or to address them more effectively than government can. This section also addresses issues in which over-policing attempts to fix issues that should be handled through the community.

Posts in Felon Disenfranchisement

When People in Prison Can Vote, Officials "Treat Them with Some Respect"

“She added that voting from prison “does not negate their incarceration or any work done by law enforcement to put them there” but that it could “force elected officials who played a part [to] think twice about likening them to animals. If more district attorneys, mayors, governors or attorney generals, knew that every inmate could vote in their elections, they may start seeing them in a different light…maybe even treat them with some respect.”“

The Appeal: Political Report

November 22, 2019

Felon DisenfranchisementPhillip ReevesNovember 22, 2019The Appeal Political ReportComment

Their Voting Rights Have Been Restored, But Only A Fraction Of Former Felons Are Registered To Vote

“This year in Louisiana almost 37,000 people became eligible to vote, thanks to a law that reinstated voting rights for formerly incarcerated people after they’ve served five years of parole. But only a small portion of those people have actually registered to vote in time to participate in the statewide election.“

New Orleans Public Radio

November 14, 2019

Felon DisenfranchisementPhillip ReevesNovember 14, 2019New Orleans Public Radio, LouisianaComment

Voting from behind bars: Pa. allows many inmates to vote, but access varies by county

“In Pennsylvania, tens of thousands of people confined to county jails for non-violent offenses or who are awaiting trial are eligible to vote. Whether they do is an entirely different question. Currently, inmates confined to a county jail can apply for an absentee ballot by mailing an application to their county elections board. But advocates say the current mail-in absentee ballot process is difficult to navigate for anyone serving a jail sentence. And while the new voting reform package signed into law last week by Gov. Tom Wolf stands to make absentee voting even easier for the incarcerated, advocates say there needs to be follow through by county jail administrators.“

PA Post

November 5, 2019

Felon DisenfranchisementPhillip ReevesNovember 5, 2019PA Post, PennsylvaniaComment

3 Questions: Ariel White on the impact of incarceration on voting

“What’s more, my work suggests that felony disfranchisement (legal restrictions on voting by people convicted of felonies) is just the tip of the iceberg when it comes to voter participation. The people whose cases I studied were all facing misdemeanor, not felony, charges, which means that everyone sent to jail was still eligible to vote in the next election. These are people convicted of things like “stealing something worth less than $500,” which is not the sort of offense that we as a society have decided should result in disenfranchisement. Nevertheless, my research found spending time in jail was life-changing enough that these people became less likely to make it to the polls afterward.“

MIT News

October 28, 2019

Felon DisenfranchisementPhillip ReevesOctober 28, 2019MIT News, Ariel WhiteComment

Elections Could Expand Voting Rights This Fall. They Will Take Place in an “Intolerable Condition.”

“All three states have exceptionally harsh disenfranchisement laws. Kentucky and Virginia laws provide for a lifetime voting ban on anyone convicted of a felony; Mississippi imposes a lifetime ban for a long list of offenses, which range from perjury and theft to murder. Although Virginia law is as harsh as Kentucky’s, in practice voting rights have been considerably more expansive there since 2016.“

The Appeal Political Report

September 26, 2019

Felon DisenfranchisementPhillip ReevesSeptember 26, 2019The Appeal Political Report, Virginia, Kentucky, MississippiComment

In Prison, and Fighting to Vote

“Still, it’s taken a while for even post-incarceration enfranchisement to get on liberal legislators’ agendas, Marc Mauer, the executive director of the Sentencing Project, told me. That’s gradually changing. In 2019 alone, state lawmakers introduced proposals in at least 16 states and Washington, D.C., to expand, study, or facilitate voting for people with felony convictions. In some places, this would apply to people still in prison.“

The Atlantic

September 6, 2019

Felon DisenfranchisementPhillip ReevesSeptember 6, 2019The AtlanticComment

Group helps felons restore their voting rights

““Caldwell said if you were convicted of a felony after 1981 you lost your voting rights, but can be eligible to restore them after serving your sentence. To restore your voting rights you can either get an expungement or apply for a certificate of restoration. To do that you can't have any outstanding court costs, restitution and, what advocates say is sometimes someone's biggest barrier, back child support."

WMC 5 Memphis

July 17, 2019

Felon DisenfranchisementPhillip ReevesJuly 17, 2019WMC 5 Memphis, Memphis, TennesseeComment

D.C. should expand voting rights to its incarcerated citizens

“I and other commissioners are focused on expanding rights for every justice-involved District resident. Reentry is a difficult process, but residents who have strong connections to the community are likely to be successful. I should know. I am one of them.“

Washington Post

June 14, 2019

Felon DisenfranchisementPhillip ReevesJune 14, 2019Washington Post, Washington DCComment

In Just Two States, All Prisoners Can Vote. Here's Why Few Do.

“Yet the barriers to voting, both external and internal, remain high. Incarcerated people are restricted from using the Internet and often cut off from news in the places they used to live. They are not allowed to campaign for candidates, display posters or show other signs of political partisanship.“

The Marshall Project

June 11, 2019

Felon DisenfranchisementPhillip ReevesJune 11, 2019The Marshall Project, Maine, VermontComment

Felons from D.C. could be able to vote from prison under proposed bill

“White’s bill would thrust the District into the vanguard of the felon enfranchisement movement. Bills to eliminate lifetime voting bans for felons and to restore voting rights to those on parole or probation have won bipartisan support in statehouses and at the ballot box. But allowing people to vote while serving time remains controversial.“

Washington Post

June 3, 2019

Felon DisenfranchisementPhillip ReevesJune 3, 2019Washington Post, Washington DCComment

Nevada passes bill to automatically restore felons' voting rights upon release from prison

“The Nevada Legislature on Wednesday passed Assembly Bill 431, which would immediately allow ex-felons to vote, including those convicted in another state. The bill also allows people convicted of a crime, but not imprisoned, to cast a ballot. The measure applies retroactively to previously released offenders. “

Reno Gazette Journal

May 23, 2019

Felon DisenfranchisementPhillip ReevesMay 23, 2019Reno Gazette Journal, NevadaComment

“A Sliver of Light:” Maine’s Top Election Official on Voting From Prison

“When I talked with one of the social workers at the prison about the driver’s license, they said that it’s like that sliver of light that comes in through the ceiling. For some of them, it’s their last connection to the outside world, having a driver’s license. There’s a little bit of humanity involved here as well. Much of the way we handle corrections is very vengeful, you lock somebody away forever. I’m not judging whether or not that’s appropriate, but you cannot deny that you are still working with human beings, people who have a psychological structure that is greatly impacted by their incarceration.“

The Appeal Political Report

May 2, 2019

Felon DisenfranchisementPhillip ReevesMay 2, 2019The Appeal Political Report, MaineComment

Bernie Sanders Explains Why He Supports Voting Rights for All Citizens

“The Appeal: Political Report talked to Sanders about his position on voting rights, why he supports ending felony disenfranchisement, and what he sees in Vermont, where people can vote from prison. The interview has been condensed and lightly edited.“

The Appeal Political Report

April 30, 2019

Felon DisenfranchisementPhillip ReevesApril 30, 2019The Appeal Political Report, Bernie SandersComment

Pete Buttigieg Says Incarcerated People Shouldn't Get to Vote

“Buttigieg's reasoning—that prisoners lose their rights while in prison and that they're ‘removed from political life’—is circular. As Vann Newkirk wrote in The Atlantic last year, it's the same as saying a prisoner can't vote because they're a prisoner. ‘Even death-row inmates retain a broad array of constitutional rights," Newkirk says, "including access to due process, the right to sue, and the right to appeal. Why is the right to vote excluded’?“

GQ

April 23, 2019

Felon DisenfranchisementPhillip ReevesApril 23, 2019GQ, Pete ButtigiegComment

Opinion: Tell Me Again Why Prisoners Can’t Vote

“But the growing tide against felon disenfranchisement raises a related question: Why disenfranchise felons at all? Why not let prisoners vote — and give the franchise to the roughly 1.5 million people sitting in federal and state prisons? Why must supposedly universal adult suffrage exclude people convicted of crimes?“

New York Times

April 11, 2019

Felon DisenfranchisementPhillip ReevesApril 11, 2019New York TimesComment

House committee passes Amendment 4 bill along party lines

“Voting along party lines, Republicans advanced the measure, which would require felons pay back all court fees and costs before being eligible to vote, even if those costs are not handed down by a judge as part of the person’s sentence. That standard goes beyond the old system, which only required someone pay back restitution to a victim before applying to have their civil rights restored. And Democratic representatives and others blasted it.“

Tampa Bay Times

March 19, 2019

Felon DisenfranchisementPhillip ReevesMarch 19, 2019Amendment 4, FloridaComment

Prison Gerrymandering Distorts Our Democracy in the Worst Ways

“Sponsored by Congressman John Sarbanes (D-MD) this ‘For the People Act’ is designed ‘to expand Americans’ access to the ballot box, reduce the influence of big money in politics, and strengthen ethics rules for public servants and for other purposes.’ It does all that. And, thanks to Pocan, it also addresses one of the great injustices in American politics—prison gerrymandering.“

The Nation

March 8, 2019

Felon DisenfranchisementPhillip ReevesMarch 8, 2019The Nation, For the People ActComment

Prison Gerrymandering Distorts Our Democracy in the Worst Ways

“Because Census data is used for redistricting at every level of government, prison gerrymandering creates distorted maps. In an era of mass incarceration, this distortion creates an even greater injustice because, as the Prison Policy Initiative explains, “counting the people in prison in the wrong place now undermines the Supreme Court’s requirement that political power be apportioned on the basis of population. The process of drawing fair and equal districts fails when the underlying data are flawed.”“

The Nation

March 8, 2019

Felon DisenfranchisementPhillip ReevesMarch 8, 2019The NationComment

The Appeal Podcast: The Backlash Against Expanding Voting Rights

“States throughout the U.S. have recently expanded voting rights to millions of people with felony records previously barred from participating in elections. After a brief moment of celebration, two of them, Iowa and Florida, are now experiencing backlash from Republican lawmakers advocating for policies that would curtail those rights. This week, we are joined by The Appeal’s Kira Lerner to discuss the hurdles these movements still face and the forces pushing back against the wave of increased enfranchisement.“

The Appeal

March 7, 2019

Felon DisenfranchisementPhillip ReevesMarch 7, 2019The AppealComment

Decades waiting to vote: Louisiana parolees, probationers set to get voting rights back Friday

“Johnston, who is jokingly called “Biggy” because he is such a small guy, is one of approximately 36,000 people on parole and probation in Louisiana expected to get their voting rights restored Friday. After 26 years out of prison and on parole, he said he’s not going to waste any time signing up before the next election.“

New Orleans Times-Picayune

February 28, 2019

Felon DisenfranchisementPhillip ReevesFebruary 28, 2019Louisiana, New Orleans Times-PicayuneComment