Empower Justice-Involved People at the Polls.
Voter suppression runs rampant, even in NYC. The deadlines, misinformation, confusing patchwork of laws and bureaucratic hurdles all keep those but the most affluent from the polls.
Justice Votes NY is a means for those personally impacted by the criminal legal system to take power. Voting is how we realize the dream that those with criminal convictions will become an informed electorate that can bring about change. As we have seen in COVID, the Government has ignored our people, and they will only begin to acknowledge those with criminal convictions if they become a powerful voting bloc with whom they are forced to reckon.
We want to provide people with education and self efficacy to choose to mobilize to the polls, rather than to feel pressured to participate in a system that has failed them.
For communities most impacted by incarceration, creating opportunities for neighbors to connect and mobilize while building a sense of ownership in the political process is critical for long term sustainable community health and well-being
This year has revealed again the rampant racial inequities pervading all our institutions. We must meet that and extinguish it by demanding better of our politicians who see the mistreatment of BIPOC individuals and do nothing.
We created a three session curriculum that covers voter disenfranchisement, how to register, and how to successfully vote through all mediums possible.
We then train trainers, who themselves are justice-impacted to teach a cohort.
Right now Parole Officers are the primary messengers regarding voting which is counter-intuitive given they otherwise police adherence to community supervision guidelines. Instead those who have also had touch-points with the criminal legal system should share their passion for civic engagement and encourage justice-impacted people to mobilize to the polls.
Many people are told to vote. We firmly believe in choice. The system is intentionally opaque and difficult for the average New Yorker to navigate-hence our state having one of the lowest voter turn-outs of any in America.
Education on these systems is the key to combating New York’s voter suppression.
If you think you are ineligible to vote, you should know that you likely do have the right. The only instances in which you can NOT vote are when you are incarcerated after being adjudicated for a felony or are out on parole for a felony (to which there are exceptions). If you are no Federal or NYS probation and a resident in NYC you have the right to vote, as well if you are under no community supervision. If you are on parole you may have received a conditional pardon under Executive Order 181. To check click on the parolee look-up to see if it is marked “active.” Additionally if you receive a Certificate of Relief from Disabilities or Certificate of Good Conduct you may vote.
You have power no matter what.
Most importantly you should know that voting is a way to use your voice but not the only way. Those who missed the deadline or are disenfranchised should not feel they cannot promulgate change. You can. Stay tuned to learn more.
Please contact SBazell@collegeandcommunity.org with any additional questions!
Hear the stories of power and perseverance from the women of our Art to Equity Program!
CCF’s Vivian Nixon talks with Common Cause NY about the importance of voting access for marginalized communities
Vivian Nixon walks you through completing and preparing your New York State absentee ballot for submission.