Incarcerated Felons Could Be Allowed To Vote In Bill Moving Through D.C. Council

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As D.C. resident Michael Jones served out a 23-year sentence in federal prison, he came to appreciate the bind he was in.

"Being under those circumstances, in those harsh conditions, there's no opportunity to do something to change that," he said on Thursday, speaking to a D.C. Council committee. But he said one thing could have helped: the chance to vote.

And that may soon come to pass for D.C. residents in the situation Jones was once in. A bill making its way through the Council would give anyone imprisoned for committing a felony the right to vote in D.C. elections as they serve out their sentence.

The District currently allows anyone in D.C. jail for a minor offense to vote; 127 inmates did so during last year's general election. The city also restores the voting rights of anyone imprisoned for committing a felony once they are released. The new bill would take that a step further, extending the franchise within prison walls, something only currently allowed in Maine, Vermont and Puerto Rico.

Written by Council member Robert White (D-At Large) and introduced in June, the bill has already attracted support from the entire Council and Mayor Muriel Bowser and on Thursday drew unanimous praise from dozens of advocates, activists and residents who urged lawmakers to quickly move it forward.

They argued that the current prohibition on felons voting — which was imposed by Congress in 1955 — is part of a long history of laws and restrictions meant to keep African Americans from being civically engaged and able to exercise power.

"We saw the use of poll taxes, literacy tests and violence and threats of violence to keep African Americans from participating in the democratic process," said White. "It was also here that we saw the quick acceleration of states and the District taking away the right to vote of incarcerated citizens who were and continue to be disproportionately black. This was done not as an expression against incarcerated people voting, it was done as an expression against African Americans voting."

Speakers also said the ban on felons voting severs the connection between residents and their communities and does so at a time they most may need to feel connected to their homes and families. Tyrone Walker, who himself served a prison sentence for committing a felony, likened this to "civil death."

"The consequences of civil death have a deep-rooted connection to communities of color targeted by the criminal justice system. Its effects are felt across generations and continue to devastate the lives of those in my community," he said.

"We want out Washingtonians who are far away in federal custody to feel connected to their communities," said Ward 7 resident Keith Towery. "Washingtonians go to federal prison, they learn to read and write, why not teach them to vote? They can bring that back to the community."

Paula Thompson, a co-chair of the Reentry Action Network, said allowing serving sentences for felonies could serve public safety — she cited research showing that recidivism rates are lower among former offenders who remained connected to their communities while they were in prison.

While the bill received a friendly airing in the Council, the same idea voiced by Democratic presidential candidate Sen. Bernie Sanders (I-Vermont) earlier this year drew strong criticism — including from other presidential contenders in his own party. And in a moment of devil's advocacy on Thursday, White asked whether maybe some crimes are too serious for their perpetrators to enjoy retaining their voting rights in prison.

"This is a really slippery slope," responded Blair Bowie from the Campaign Legal Center. "In a democracy, voters pick politicians, not the other way around."

Given the seeming lack of local opposition to the bill, lawmakers shifted their attention to how it could be implemented. This could be especially challenging, they conceded, because D.C. residents convicted of felonies are housed in federal facilities across the country. That means D.C. would have to coordinate with the U.S. Bureau of Prisons to ensure inmates can get their ballots and other information on time.

"Its willingness to participate in ensuring District residents' voting rights — or simply respond to requests for information — is impossible to predict and cannot be compelled," said Kevin Donahue, D.C.'s deputy mayor for public safety and justice.

Alice Miller, the director of the D.C. Board of Elections, said inmates would likely vote using absentee ballots, but that her office would have to create a specific database to track where they are serving their sentences. And she said discussion would be needed to decide what local address inmates would use for registration purposes.

Council member Charles Allen (D-Ward 6) said that restoring the right of felons to vote would be a floor, not a ceiling, and that the city would have to proactively work to inform inmates of their voting rights and encourage them to exercise them.

But while executing the bill did occupy some of their time on Thursday, most of the speakers at the Council hearing simply urged lawmakers to move quickly and approve it. Before that happens, Allen said he would be holding a continuation of the hearing on Oct. 29 in Ward 8, to allow more members of the community to weigh in.

"We give inmates other rights, so why not the right to vote?" said Ella Hankins, an 8th grader at Washington Latin Public Charter School. "Some people say the point of prison is to punish them. But you don't have to take everything away to punish them."