Mayor Muriel Bowser has signed the Restore the Vote Amendment, authorizing voting by people incarcerated in jail or prison with a felony conviction. However, as emergency legislation, the law will expire in 90 days unless the Council approves a permanent version this fall.

Statement by Keshia Morris Desir, Census and Mass Incarceration Project Manager at Common Cause

Một khi người Mỹ đủ điều kiện bỏ phiếu, quyền đó sẽ không bao giờ bị tước đoạt. Washington, DC cùng với Maine và Vermont đấu tranh cho quyền quan trọng và thiêng liêng nhất mà chúng ta cùng chia sẻ, quyền bỏ phiếu.

Felony disenfranchisement laws have a disgraceful past rooted in the oppression of Black Americans in the Reconstruction and Jim Crow era that disproportionately impacts communities of color today.

Unlike Maine and Vermont, DC incarcerates and disenfranchises an outsize number of Black people. In 2019, 4,049 DC residents were incarcerated in the Bureau of Prisons, and over 90 percent of them were Black. DC residents who are incarcerated, in many cases, bear an extra burden in that they are sent to prisons far away from their families and communities. Retaining their right to vote helps keep them connected to their community.

Far too often, the legal system is working against many of our friends and neighbors, instead of helping to obtain a truly inclusive democracy. The current system of mass incarceration presents a democratic challenge: those most affected by the criminal justice system are unable to express their grievances at the ballot box.

We applaud Mayor Bowser and the DC Council for taking this important step towards reform by making sure those who are incarcerated are not stripped of their voice in our democracy. On behalf of our more than 3,600 Common Cause members in the District, we strongly urge the DC Council to pass and the mayor to sign permanent legislation.

Đọc báo cáo của chúng tôi: Không tước quyền bầu cử: Phong trào khôi phục quyền bầu cử