A Decade of Reform

Everyone deserves a chance to start over after missteps or misfortune - whether that means having a chance to rebuild after a disaster like Katrina, or being able to participate in the civic life of our country after serving time in the corrections system.   Our nation is strongest when each person has a stake in society and a voice to participate in the decisions that effect us.  So it was encouraging to read the latest report
(pdf) from The Sentencing Project noting that the movement to restore the voting rights of felons is gaining momentum.

According to the report, the last decade has seen more than 600,000 ex-felons regain their franchise, and 16 states implement policy reforms to lower restrictions on the right of felons to vote.  This year alone, 73 bills on felony disenfranchisement
were introduced in 22 states.  An astounding 85% of these bills sought to
expand voting rights.

That's the good news.  Here's the bad:

• U.S. disenfranchisement laws remain among the world's most
  severe despite public opinion polls showing 80% support for restoring
  the vote to those who have completed their sentences.

• More than 5 million Americans still will be banned from voting
  this Election Day.

Here's the ugly:

• An estimated 1 in 12 African Americans is disenfranchised, a rate nearly five times the rate of non-African Americans.

This is an issue that effects us all.Restoring the voting rights of felon's is an important step that we as a nation need to take if we want to turn our justice system away from the punitive model in force today and embrace a redemptive model in line with much of our values as Americans.  We've still got a long way to go, but its nice to see that the momentum is on our side.

Read the full report (pdf), which includes a breakdown of state-based policy reform.