Voting rights for people on parole

New York’s Election Law prohibits some individuals who have completed their prison terms from voting. As a result of this policy, more than 30,000 New Yorkers were barred from voting at any time until 2018, when Gov. Cuomo began using his pardon power to restore their voting rights.

Gov. Cuomo’s 2018 executive order is no substitute for permanent legislation. It doesn’t address confusion over who’s eligible to vote, it’s an inefficient use of government resources, and it’s discretionary, meaning a future governor could decide not to restore voting rights this way. It also doesn’t rid the state of a 140-year-old Jim Crow law. A.4448 (O’Donnell)/S.830A (Comrie) would go a long way toward addressing these issues. The New York State Legislature must act now.

What Will the Legislation Do?

• Codifies the restoration of voting rights for all New Yorkers upon release from prison and eliminates the need for a discretionary pardon.

• Eliminates the administrative burden of the pardon process by making restoration automatic.

• Requires state and local correction officials to provide notice of voting rights restoration and an opportunity to register upon release. 

• Enacts a simple, bright line rule that is easy to administer and understand: if you are living in the community, you can vote.

  Why Is Legislation Needed?

• We cannot say we care about voting and democracy while formally disenfranchising people.

• New York’s law is rooted in a Jim-Crow era attempt to prevent Black men from voting and still largely impacts people of color today. Almost 75% of New Yorkers who are home from prison but can’t vote unless they get a conditional pardon are Black or Latino. 

• The current process results in a weeks-long delay between an individual’s release from prison and when they get their right to vote back, causing unnecessary confusion about who is eligible to vote. It is also discretionary, can be easily rescinded by future governors, and is an inefficient use of government resources.

• Denying the right to vote to New Yorkers who are home, working, paying taxes, and raising families serves no legitimate law enforcement purpose. Evidence shows that people who are civically engaged are less likely to be rearrested.

• Absent Cuomo’s action, New York would lag behind 19 other states and D.C. that already allow everyone not currently incarcerated to vote. And that number grows each and every year.

  Who Supports This Bill?

• This bill is supported by a broad coalition that includes civil rights groups, criminal justice reform groups, law enforcement, the faith community, good government groups, and labor unions. It is also supported by the district attorneys for Nassau, Manhattan, Brooklyn, and Bronx counties.