"We let ex-convicts marry, reproduce, buy beer, own property
and drive. They don't lose their freedom of religion, their right against self-incrimination or their right not to have
soldiers quartered in their homes in time of war. [...] If we thought criminals could never be reformed, we wouldn't
let them out of prison in the first place." - Steve Chapman Columnist and Editorial Writer, Chicago Tribune
"I don't think having the right to vote should be based upon one's financial status. It smacks too much
of class and other forms of bias." -Jeanne Kohl-Welles, Ph.D. Washington State Senator (D-36th),
Seattle
DID YOU KNOW?
The U.S. is the only
democracy in the world that disenfranchises people who have completed their sentences.
One in forty-one adults
has currently or permanently lost the right to vote as a result of a felony conviction.
A citizen convicted of
a felony can run for president of the United States but can't vote in Virginia.
Many countries allow prisoners
to vote: Canada, Denmark, Israel, Peru, South Africa, Zimbabwe and more!
Only two states -Maine and Vermont- allow
prisoners to vote.
In Washington state, a former felon's ability to vote is based not on the crime nor
the amount of prison time; but on their ability to pay a fine.
In five states that deny the vote to former felons,
one in four black men is permanently disenfranchised.
Nearly 600,000 veterans are denied the right
to vote by state felony disenfranchisement laws.
