Stop Voter Suppression/Democracy Restoration Act Mission

In the United States, an estimated 5.3 million adult citizens are currently disenfranchised as a result of a criminal conviction, nearly four million of whom are living and working in the community. While 15 states and the District of Columbia already restore voting rights upon release from prison, 35 states continue to restrict the voting rights of people who are no longer incarcerated.

Colorlines reports: “On Election Day, millions of voters head to the polls. But there’s a sizable number of people who aren’t permitted to cast ballots because they’ve been caught up in the criminal justice system. An estimated 5.3 million Americans have currently or permanently lost their right to vote because of felony convictions—and given the country’s ever-expanding prison system, that number will likely increase. At least four million of those people have completed their sentences or are on probation or parole, according to NPR. This disenfranchisement was recently dubbed ‘the new Jim Crow’ by author Michelle Alexander, because of the sheer size of its racial disparity. Since black men are incarcerated at a far higher rate than the national average, they are also denied the right to vote at a far higher rate—seven times the national average; 1.4 million African-American men have lost their voting rights, according to the Sentencing Project.”

This Action Group is dedicated to passing the Democracy Restoration Act and ending Voter Suppression. The Democracy Restoration Act will restore voting rights in federal elections to nearly four million Americans who are out of prison and living in the community; ensure that people on probation never lose their right to vote in federal elections; and notify people about their right to vote in federal elections when they are leaving prison, sentenced to probation, or convicted of a misdemeanor. Ending voter suppression will guarantee that every citizen that wants to vote will have the opportunity to cast their ballot for the person of their choice. Voting will again be a right that is not abridged because of age, race, address or economic standing.