Mass Incarceration

Today, Common Cause released a new report on the impact of denying voting rights to people with past felony convictions and what must be done to strengthen their voting rights. “Zero Disenfranchisement: The Movement to Restore Voting Rights” documents the racist history of felony disenfranchisement laws, the new movement to repeal them, and provides several personal stories of individuals affected by these voter suppression efforts.

The increase in attention being paid to felony disenfranchisement laws warrants a serious overview of felony disenfranchisement in the U.S. This report will discuss the history of felony disenfranchisement laws and their impact on our society, analyze the arguments surrounding felony disenfranchisement laws, and explore the movement to restore voting rights to people with felony convictions. This report also concludes with recommendations for states and advocacy groups interested in starting work in the Restoration of Voting Rights Movement.

Being a person that was formerly incarcerated myself, the only time I didn’t vote was during my incarceration. I know better than most the importance of being able to vote with a felony conviction. Growing up in a household that placed significant emphasis on the importance of voting, I have always understood the POWER in being able to vote and having your voice heard.

Juneteenth -- the celebration of Emancipation Day a.k.a. America's other Independence Day -- is a good time to reflect on the lingering systemic disenfranchisement that occurred after slavery ended. The prison industry has taken advantage of the “punishment exception” to the 13th Amendment. After the end of slavery, states passed discriminatory laws to arrest and imprison large numbers of freed black people. Incarcerated black people were then leased out or forced to provide free labor to private individuals and corporations. This still occurs today as states across the nation continue to lease out incarcerated people to private corporations.

The history of denying incarcerated people the right to vote is rooted in the history of African American voter suppression. And while restoring that right is gaining traction in the 2020 campaign, Tierra Bradford says many Democratic hopefuls still don’t get the point.

I've always been fascinated by politics. My time in prison in West Virginia enhanced that. Now I'm fighting for #FairMaps and against all kinds of racial-, partisan-, and prison-gerrymandering. Hey-Hey, Ho-Ho, gerrymandering has got to go!