The American Democracy Minute Radio Report & Podcast for Dec. 19, 2023
Today’s Script
(Variations occur with audio due to editing for time. Today’s Links below the script)
You’re listening to the American Democracy Minute, keeping YOUR government by and for the people.
Allowing the currently or formerly incarcerated the right to vote has been a political football for decades. But attitudes are shifting, and at the state and federal level, pro-voter legislation aims to re-enfranchise Americans both in and out of prison.
Policies range from Vermont, Maine and the District of Columbia, where all incarcerated citizens can vote, to the 23 states where voting rights are restored upon release. In 22 states, voting rights MAY be restored by an act of a governor, judge, or board, or the completion of parole or restitution. In Mississippi, while restoration is possible, it has been wielded as a voter suppression tool, as a federal court ruled this year.
The trend has been to restore rights of returning felons upon release, as Minnesota and New Mexico did in 2023, and to repeal lifetime disenfranchisement. Voting Rights Lab reports that legal action in Delaware last week aims to ensure mail-in voting for misdemeanor offenders and prisoners awaiting trial.
Then last week, the Inclusive Democracy Act was introduced in Congress by Vermont U.S. Senator Peter Welch and Massachusetts U.S. Representative Ayanna Pressley. The bill would allow eligible incarcerated citizens the right to vote in federal elections regardless of criminal convictions.
Expect more legislation re-enfranchising the current and formerly incarcerated in 2024. We have links to the rules in your state and the groups taking action at AmericanDemocracyMinute.org. I’m Brian Beihl.
Today’s Links
Articles & Resources:
Voting Rights Lab – Mail-in Voting for Misdemeanor Offenders and Prisoners Awaiting Trial
Campaign Legal Center – Restore Your Vote: I have a felony conviction. Can I vote?
National Conference of State Legislatures – Restoration of Voting Rights for Felons
The Sentencing Project – Expanding the Vote: State Felony Disenfranchisement Reform, 1997-2023
U.S. Congress – (No bill text yet) H.R.6643 – To guarantee the right to vote for all citizens regardless of conviction of a criminal offense, and for other purposes
U.S. Representative Ayanna Pressley – PRESSLEY, WELCH UNVEIL HISTORIC BILL TO GUARANTEE RIGHT TO VOTE FOR INCARCERATED CITIZENS
Groups Taking Action:
The Sentencing Project, ACLU, NAACP Legal Defense Fund, Common Cause
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