Groups in Illinois are pushing to pass legislation to restore voting rights for all, including those who are currently incarcerated. According to Stand Up America, Illinois has “the chance to make history” by being the first state to restore voting rights for everyone. Last year the group conducted a poll which found close to 60-percent of Illinois voters support legislative efforts that guarantee the right to vote for all citizens 18 and older, including those completing a sentence. Chicago native Avalon Betts-Gaston says in 2015 she was “wrongfully convicted” for wire fraud and served time in federal prison. Today she leads the Illinois Alliance for Re-Entry and Justice, one of the advocacy groups fighting for voter restoration. Betts-Gaston says the right to vote creates “community cohesion” from inside or outside of jail.
When people are connected to their community and to their families and in these ways, through civic engagement and things like that, they are less likely to commit harm in their current environment and also commit harm in the communities once they return.”
Betts-Gaston says those opposed to voter restoration argue that when someone is incarcerated, they should lose their right to vote as part of the punishment. She counters by saying the sentence is the punishment and everyone has the right to advocate for their community. According to The Sentencing Project, nearly 30-thousand Illinoisans are disenfranchised because of a felony conviction.
Katrina Phidd with Chicago Votes says they support voter restoration because they “believe democracy works better when more people are involved.” Phidd says those in prison are still citizens and have needs, many of whom have families. She adds the dehumanization of the prison population is an issue that complicates measures like this one. Phidd adds many aren’t aware of who really is in the state’s prisons.
“We also know this is a racial issue too, I mean, 55% of people in Illinois prisons are Black even though Black people make up less than 15% of the overall state population. Disenfranchisement and that silencing – it has long-term consequences.”
Phidd says the Illinois Constitution states the right to vote must be “restored not later than upon completion of one’s sentence.” She says in order to be compliant with the Constitution, this proposed legislation says two weeks after a conviction is when one’s right to vote would be restored.
***Courtesy of the Illinois News Connection***
