[AicapAifap] Elections

[Alliance of Incarcerated Canadians/Foreigners in American Prisons]

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE: April 18, 2018 
Contact: Morgan McLeod
mmcleod at sentencingproject.org
202-628-0871 
New York Governor to Restore Voting Rights to 35,000 People on Parole 
WASHINGTON, DC – Today Governor Andrew Cuomo announced an executive
order to grant voting rights to 35,000 people in New York State under
parole supervision. The Sentencing Project estimates that 45 percent
of the beneficiaries are African Americans who are disproportionately
impacted by felony disenfranchisement laws. Nationally, 6.1 million
people cannot vote because of a felony conviction; one-quarter (1.6
million) are living under supervision in the community. New York law
bars people in prison and on parole supervision from voting. The state
joins 24 other states that have expanded voting access for people with
convictions over the last 20 years. The state of Florida also has the
opportunity to advance significant changes to its lifetime felony
disenfranchisement policy because of a November ballot initiative that
would expand voting access for as many as 1.4 million people who have
completed their sentence. 
Marc Mauer, Executive Director of The Sentencing Project, made the
following statement in response to today’s announcement: “Governor
Cuomo has taken an important step to restore voting rights among
people with felony convictions. Restricting voting rights is deeply
problematic for a democratic society and compounds the social
isolation of formerly incarcerated persons from their communities. I
urge the legislature to affirm the governor’s executive order by
enacting legislation to expand voting.” 
### 
 The Sentencing Project works for a fair and effective U.S. justice
system by promoting reforms in sentencing policy, addressing unjust
racial disparities and practices, and advocating for alternatives to
incarceration. 
Contact Us 
The Sentencing Project
1705 DeSales Street NW
8th Floor
Washington, District of Columbia 20036
202-628-0871
staff at sentencingproject.org 
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