FEINGOLD
INTRODUCES BILL RESTORING VOTING RIGHTS FOR MILLIONS OF AMERICANS
Legislation Would Re-enfranchise People Who Paid Their Debt to Society
October 3, 2008
Washington, D.C. –
U.S. Senator Russ Feingold has introduced legislation to restore the
right to vote to millions of Americans. The Democracy Restoration Act
introduced by Feingold, a member of the Senate Judiciary Committee,
would guarantee voting rights in federal elections for millions of Americans
who have paid their debt to society after a felony conviction. The bill
would allow people on probation or parole, or who have completely served
their sentences, to freely exercise their fundamental right to vote
in federal elections. The legislation would not, however, grant the
right to vote to people who are incarcerated. In the event the legislation
is not acted on this session, the legislation will be reintroduced in
the next Congress. The legislation was introduced in the House of Representatives
by Rep. John Conyers, Chairman of the House Judiciary Committee.
“People who commit
crimes must pay the price,” Feingold said. “But once that
price is paid and our criminal justice system determines they are ready
to rejoin society, they should have all of the rights and responsibilities
that come with citizenship. The right to vote conveys a sense of responsibility
for the well being of a community. Relegating people to second-class
citizen status keeps them on the outside and may even drive them back
to behavior that got them in trouble in the first place.”
According to the Brennan
Center for Justice at New York University and the Sentencing Project,
5.3 million American citizens are not allowed to vote because of a felony
conviction. Nearly four million people who are disenfranchised are no
longer, or never were, in prison, and approximately two million have
completed their entire sentence, including probation and parole. Right
now, a felony conviction can result in permanent disenfranchisement
in ten states. In 35 other states, convicted offenders cannot vote while
on parole and in 30 of those 35, people on probation are disenfranchised
as well. African-Americans are disproportionately affected by these
state laws. Nationwide, 13 percent of all African-American men are disenfranchised.
Maryland, Rhode Island and Florida are among the states that most recently
restored the right to vote to those who had paid their debts to society.
Also read Senator Feingold’s
op-ed from earlier this year, co-authored by former HUD Secretary and
Republican Vice-Presidential nominee Jack Kemp, on the issue of democracy
restoration: http://feingold.senate.gov/opinion/08/20080215.htm
|
