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RISE is among the 31 member groups that make up the Nebraska Voting Rights Restoration Coalition, which counts Common Cause Nebraska among its members. Gavin Geis, the Executive Director, says restoring voting rights helps reduce recidivism by creating stronger community ties. "It's a way of engaging people in their communities that was cut off before," Geis said. "So beyond getting to vote on who represents you, I think this helps tie people back into their neighbors and their community in a way that will hopefully reduce the reasons why one ends up back in prison."

Gavin Geis, executive director for Common Cause Nebraska, called it a great day for voting rights and democracy. "Making Nebraskans wait two years to have the right to vote after serving their time was an arbitrary deadline that needed to be removed," he said. "We applaud the Legislature for supporting the restoration of thousands of our neighbors' rights and removing this barrier to voter participation in our state."

Keisha Morris Desir, justice and mass incarceration project manager for Common Cause, said the Inclusive Democracy Act is the first of its kind to include voting rights for people even if they are still behind bars. "This is the first really expansive bill that would allow everyone -- including those who are currently incarcerated, on parole and probation -- to vote in a federal election," Desir explained.

Virginia Kase Solomón will be the next president and CEO of Common Cause. Currently CEO of the League of Women Voters, she will start her new role in February and will be the first Hispanic person to lead the democratic watchdog. She succeeds Karen Hobert Flynn, who died this spring after three decades with the organization.

The nonprofit Common Cause helped to create the National Voting in Prison Coalition. Keshia Morris Desir, justice and mass incarceration project manager for the group, explained the bill, known as the Inclusive Democracy Act, would restore the right to vote in federal elections for individuals who are incarcerated or on probation and parole. "What that does is help to disenfranchise the 4.6 million individuals that currently do not have access to the ballot box in federal elections," Morris Desir explained. "More than 50% of people across the United States support voting for currently incarcerated folks," Morris Desir pointed out. "People across the country know that, you know, just because you made a mistake in your past and you have a criminal conviction does not exclude you from citizenship and your right to vote."

Top Grassroots Lobbyists Aaron Scherb, Common Cause