Dear ACLU Supporter,

Voting is a fundamental right. But California's Constitution denies nearly 50,000 people the right to vote simply because they're on parole. This system is racially biased—three out of four Californians on parole are people of color—and this exclusion disproportionately silences the voices of Black and Brown communities.

California suppresses Black and Brown votes by design. After the Civil War, California refused to ratify the 15th Amendment, which prohibits voting restrictions based on race. Instead, California enshrined felony disenfranchisement into our state's constitution, relying on discriminatory policing and incarceration to lock people of color out of the ballot box.

We can end this injustice by passing ACA 6, the Free the Vote Act, in the California Legislature. If passed, ACA 6 would ask California voters to restore the right to vote to people on parole on the 2020 ballot.

Tell your state assembly member to vote YES on ACA 6.

Sincerely,

Abdi Soltani
Executive Director, ACLU of Northern California