 Voting
Rights
If a released prisoner secures housing, is eligible for food
stamps, and gets financial aid for education, this individual
still has to figure out how to vote. The denial of voting rights
to ex-prisoners occurs in patchwork fashion across the country.
Thirty-two states disenfranchise felons on parole; twenty-nine
states do the same for those on probation. Fourteen states prevent
ex-prisoners who have fully served their sentences from voting.
In ten states, ex-felons are automatically disenfranchised and
have little hope of ever regaining the vote; these include Alabama,
Delaware, Florida, Iowa, Kentucky, Mississippi, Nevada, New Mexico,
Virginia and Wyoming.
What
If 5.3 Million More Americans Could Vote? from AlterNet
(US), 4/20/08
In
Alabama, A Fight To Regain Voting Rights Some Felons Never Lost;
from New York Times (NY), 3/2/08
Editorial:
Felony Disenfranchisement Aids Republicans; from TruthOut
(US), 2/7/08
[Florida]
Felons Seek Return Of Rights At Miami Summit; from Miami
Herald (FL), 9/9/07
Roadmap
Of A Progressive Victory; from AlterNet (US),
4/3/07
Crist
Set To Unveil Felons' Rights Plan; from Miami Herald
(FL), 4/1/07
Why Can't
Felons Vote? from Time Magazine (US), 11/1/06
Barred
From The Ballot Box; from Village Voice (NY),
8/25/06
RI To Revisit
Felons' Voting Rights (includes state-by state breakdown);
from USA Today (US), 6/1/06
Interview:
Democracy Behind Bars; from AlterNet (US Web),
4/25/06
New Report: A
"Crazy-Quilt" of Tiny Pieces: State and Local Administration
of American Criminal Disenfranchisement Laws; from The
Sentencing Project, 11/9/05 (PDF Format) -- Studies
and Reports Archive
Editorial:
Vilsack Takes Moral Road In Felon Voting; from Iowa
City Press-Citizen (IA), 6/26/05
Felon Voting
Rights Conflict Hits Federal Court; from The New Standard (NY), 6/24/05
March 15, 2005, 109th Congress, 1st Session: HR
1300: Civic Participation and Rehabilitation Act of 2005.
Introduced in the House by Rep. John Conyers (D-MI) To ensure
the Federal voting rights of persons who have been released from
incarceration.
February 8, 2005, 109th Congress, 1st Session: HR 663: To Secure The
Federal Voting Rights Of Certain Qualified Ex-Offenders Who Have
Served Their Sentences. Introduced in the House by Rep. Charles
Rangel (D-NY).
Article: The
Ex Factor: Prison-Reform Groups Work To Educate Former Felons
On Their Voting Rights; from In These Times Magazine (US),
8/10/04
Op-Ed: Suppress
the Vote? from The New York Times, 8/16/04
Related Links:
American Civil Liberties Union: Voting Rights
Project
Voting
Rights for Ex-Convicts
After
Prison: Roadblocks To Reentry - A Report On State Legal
Barriers Facing People With Criminal Records; from the Legal Action Resource Center
(Also available in PDF
Format)
Visit the Legal Action Center's Rentry Resource
Links
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