No longer barred from votingBy Katharine Mieszkowski
Published November 8th 2006 in Salon.com
Congratulations are due to 15,000 American citizens in Rhode Island, who yesterday couldn't have voted in the election if they'd wanted to, but now will have that right. Tuesday, voters in Rhode Island passed a constitutional amendment that restores voting rights to people who have been convicted of a felony, and who are now out of prison, but still on probation or parole. It was a close race with the referendum passing with just 51.5 percent of the vote. Of course, those who will benefit from the amendment couldn't weigh in on it at the polls.
In many states, former felons aren't allowed to vote, even after they're out of prison. The passing of the Rhode Island referendum represents the first time in U.S. history that voters have elected to expand the voting rights of the formerly incarcerated at the polls. "We've often been told that the public is tough on crime, and is not receptive to the needs of people in prison. I think that this is a statement from the voters of Rhode Island that they view voting and community integration, as an important component of public safety," said Marc Mauer, executive director of the Sentencing Project, a nonprofit advocacy group. "This makes sense both from the point of democratic participation and encouraging people leaving prison to become connected with positive institutions in the community."
In many states, former felons aren't allowed to vote, even after they're out of prison. The passing of the Rhode Island referendum represents the first time in U.S. history that voters have elected to expand the voting rights of the formerly incarcerated at the polls. "We've often been told that the public is tough on crime, and is not receptive to the needs of people in prison. I think that this is a statement from the voters of Rhode Island that they view voting and community integration, as an important component of public safety," said Marc Mauer, executive director of the Sentencing Project, a nonprofit advocacy group. "This makes sense both from the point of democratic participation and encouraging people leaving prison to become connected with positive institutions in the community."
Election Day '09 was a roller-coaster for election reformers. Instant runoff voting had a great night in Minnesota, where St. Paul voters chose to implement IRV for its city elections, and Minneapolis voters used IRV for the first time—with local media touting it as a big success. As the Star-Tribune noted in endorsing IRV for St. Paul, Tuesday’s elections give the Twin Cities a chance to show the whole state of Minnesota the benefits of adopting IRV. There were disappointments in Lowell and Pierce County too, but high-profile multi-candidate races in New Jersey and New York keep policymakers focused on ways to reform elections; the Baltimore Sun and Miami Herald were among many newspapers publishing commentary from FairVote board member and former presidential candidate John Anderson on how IRV can mitigate the problems of plurality elections.