Voting is a right – NOT a privilege.

Every American citizen deserves to be heard in our democracy – and have our voices matter in decisions that affect our family, friends, and community. But right now felony disenfranchisement laws deny 4.6 million Americans this fundamental right.

Felony disenfranchisement laws have a shameful history dating back to Jim Crow – when white segregationist politicians did all they could to deny Black citizens their newly-obtained right to vote.

Just look at Alabama – where white lawmakers declared openly in the early 1900’s that they wanted to establish white supremacy with felony disenfranchisement. By passing harsh felony disenfranchisement laws that included a broad range of crimes, they denied Black men their voting rights for “moral turpitude,” “vagrancy,” and other trivial charges. [1]

Today, laws vary state to state – with some granting full voting rights to currently and formerly incarcerated citizens, and others denying those rights based on those same Jim Crow-era policies.

It’s time to fix this broken system and ensure EVERY citizen has a voice in our democracy. A new bill called the Inclusive Democracy Act would do just that, restoring full voting rights for federal elections to all Americans with felony convictions. [2]

If you agree it’s time to ensure EVERY American has an equal say in our democracy, add your name to our petition telling Congress to pass the Inclusive Democracy Act.

[1] https://www.commoncause.org/page/zero-disenfranchisement/
[2] https://www.commoncause.org/press-release/national-voting-in-prison-coalition-praises-the-landmark-introduction-of-inclusive-democracy-act-of-2023/