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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Find all of our reports at AmericanDemocracyMinute.org

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#Democracy  #DemocracyNews #Disenfranchisement #FormerlyIncarceratedVote #VotingAccessSavesLives

The post State and Federal Bills Propose Extending Voting Rights to the Currently and Formerly Incarcerated, Following Minnesota and New Mexico in 2023 appeared first on American Democracy Minute.

The American Democracy Minute Radio Report & Podcast for Nov. 6, 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.

News broke recently that the State of Virginia mistakenly revoked voting rights for 270 formerly incarcerated felons whose rights had previously  been restored.  An investigation shows that number has ballooned to 3,400 Virginians.

Governors Ralph Northam and Terry McAuliffe had relaxed rules, with McAuliffe taking executive action to restore rights to felons upon release.  In March 2023, Governor Glenn Youngkin decreed that any felon, no matter what type of offense, would be banned from voting for life, and could only have voting rights restored by an action of the governor.  Virginia is the only state to revoke rights for any type of felony, and more states have recently restored, rather than revoked, those rights. 

In late September, Virginia Public Media reported that formerly incarcerated felons who had only minor parole violations had been reported by Virginia State Police to the Virginia Department of Elections as being ineligible.  The state initially said 270 Virginians were affected.  The list of voters affected later climbed to 3,400, which the state maintains was accidental. 

WRIC reports that the Virginia Department of Elections is scrambling to restore those voters, but it is unclear how many other eligible voters remain disenfranchised.  Investigation is ongoing, but an election for General Assembly and local offices is Tuesday, Nov. 7th.

We have more reporting linked at AmericanDemocracyMinute.org.  I’m Brian Beihl.

Today’s Links

Articles & Resources:
Bolt Magazine – “Back to 1902”: Virginia Governor Revives Lifetime Ban on Voting
Virginia Mercury – Youngkin administration now requires felons to apply to get their voting rights back
Democracy Docket – Virginia Governor Sued Over Revised Felony Disenfranchisement Policy
Virginia Public Media – Virginia voter removals raise concerns among rights groups
Virginia Public Media – Virginia reinstates nearly 3,400 voters after accidental purge
WRIC –  Issue led some eligible Virginians to be mistakenly removed from voter rolls

WUSA – Thousands of voters wrongly purged from Virginia rolls

Groups Taking Action:
ACLU Virginia, The Sentencing Project, League of Women Voters VA

Please follow us on Facebook and Twitter and SHARE!  

Find all of our reports at AmericanDemocracyMinute.org

Want ADM sent to your email?  Sign up here!

#Democracy  #DemocracyNews #VirginiaPolitics #VotingRights #FreedomtoVote

The post Virginia’s Governor Ended Automatic Voting Rights Restoration for 12,000 Returning Felons this Year.  A State Error Almost Disenfranchised 3,400 More. appeared first on American Democracy Minute.

Today’s Links

Articles & Resources:
Minnesota Public Radio – Voting rights restored to 50,000 under new Minnesota law
CNN – Minnesota governor signs bill expanding voting rights for ex-felons
Minnesota Senate – SF 26 Restore the Vote bill language
National Conference of State Legislatures – Felon Voting Rights
Restoration of Rights Project – Resources

Groups Taking Action:
ACLU MN, Restore the Vote MN Coalition, League of Women Voters MN, MN Second Chance Coalition

Today’s Script:  (Variations occur with audio due to editing for time)

You’re listening to the American Democracy Minute, keeping YOUR government by and for the people.

Because there are so many efforts around the country to restrict the vote, our reports are often negative.   Today we have a good news story from Minnesota, where as many as 55,000 more citizens can now vote.

Previous law in Minnesota prohibited incarcerated felons from voting, but also returning citizens who had been released, on parole, or some type of court-ordered supervision.  With Gov. Tim Walz’s signing of the SF 26 Restore the Vote bill last week, those formerly incarcerated citizens can vote beginning July 1, 2023, even if they are on parole, and unlike some states, even if they had been convicted of a violent crime.   

Minnesota becomes the 21st state to restore voting upon release of felony incarceration.  According to the National Conference of State Legislatures, 16 other states don’t return voting rights until after parole is completed; another 11 require a pardon from a judge, board or governor, depending on the state.  

While some states’ returning felon voting rights laws have been changed by legislatures, others, like Florida, have been changed by citizen ballot initiative. When rights were restored, though, some states,  including Florida, added voter suppression hurdles like fee and restitution repayment, and additional waiting periods.   

New Mexico and Nebraska are also considering their own returning felon legislation this year. 

We have articles and resources on restoring voting rights to felons at AmericanDemocracyMinute.org.  For the American Democracy Minute, I’m Brian Beihl.

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The post Minnesota Restores Voting Rights to as Many as 55,000 Formerly Incarcerated Felons appeared first on American Democracy Minute.