The Sentencing Project: Disenfranchisement News/Updates 5/8/08

National: 'What If' Disenfranchisement was No More? Erika Wood, Director of the Democracy Program at the Brennan Center for Justice, published "What if 5.3 Million More Americans Could Vote?," an opinion editorial featured on AlterNet. Listing the collateral consequences of disenfranchisement, Wood emphasized the Jim Crow roots of barring voters and the ongoing disproportionate impact of felony disenfranchisement laws on people of color. She also described the "ripple effect" caused by disenfranchisement. "Felony disenfranchisement laws do not only impact those who lose their voting rights," Wood writes. "Entire communities lose their political capital when their citizens cannot vote. Denying the vote to one person has a ripple effect, dramatically decreasing the political power of urban and minority communities." Despite setbacks in some states, there are reform efforts in Congress, she reported. Sen. Russ Feingold and Rep. John Conyers are expected to soon introduce the Democracy Restoration Act, a bill that seeks to restore voting rights in federal elections to all Americans who have been released from prison and are living in the community. "The promise of our democracy will never be realized if 4 million Americans remain disenfranchised. It is time to end this last blanket barrier to the ballot box," Wood concluded. Tennessee: Arrest for Voting Further Disenfranchises Woman Carla Thomas Smith was arrested last month for registering to vote and casting ballots in November 2004 and November 2006, according to the Leaf Chronicle. The Tennessee resident, who was released on bond, was charged with "accessory after the fact" in 1995 - a felony conviction - which disqualified her from voting in the state. Currently, Tennessee law bans those convicted of a felony with a maximum sentence of more than a year, with the possibility of reinstatement. Those convicted of murder, some sexual offenses, treason and voting fraud permanently lose their right to vote. Further, the law disenfranchises those with felony offenses who have outstanding legal financial obligations, restitution or child support fees. Massachusetts: 'The More We Imprison, the Less We Vote' Two citizenship students at Amherst College - one on the 'inside,' the other on the 'outside,' rally for disenfranchisement reform in a co-authored opinion editorial published in the Boston Globe. They write: "We all write the same papers, read the same material by John Locke and Alexis de Tocqueville, and are all equally engaged in debating and discussing everything from the role of the good citizen to America's role in the world. There is no reason to think inmates are uniquely unqualified to wield a vote, and no reason to think they can't." The class, which meets at the Hampshire County Correctional Facility, combines college students with inmates at the prison. In regard to the more than 25,000 inmates in Massachusetts prisons and jails, the students state that in an effort to better integrate formerly incarcerated individuals in society, voting rights are a key component. - - - - - - Help The Sentencing Project continue to bring you news and updates on disenfranchisement! Make a contribution today. Contact Information -- e-mail: [email protected], web: http://www.sentencingproject.org