For five years, I was unable to vote. During elections, I felt like I still had not paid my debt to society, as if I were not a part of my community

Dear John xxxxxx,

This week, I sat before the Los Angeles County Board of Supervisors (BOS) to give public comment about the importance of the full rights of citizenship for formerly incarcerated people. The BOS was considering a resolution to support the passage of Assembly Constitutional Amendment (ACA) 6, a state measure that would help restore the right to vote to nearly 50,000 Californians on parole, many of whom are ARC members.

ACA 6 speaks to our present, our past, and our future. As you know, ARC is a network of system-impacted Californians dedicated to becoming strong and positive leaders in their communities. Granting people on parole access to civic participation is one of the most effective ways to ensure their successful reintegration home. ARC members go to school, work full-time jobs, and are already civically engaged. They have played a vital role in advocating for many of the important legislative changes that California has seen over the last decade.

Still, preventing them from voting means that our neighbors, in Los Angeles and elsewhere, who are working, paying taxes, and raising families, are deprived of the ability to have a say in important aspects of our communities. Californians on parole care deeply about the representatives who will impact the lives of their children on their local school boards. They care about how local lawmakers vote to care for LA county’s mentally ill and unsheltered people. They also care deeply about how our state representatives will shape California’s environmental future. As individuals who live and work among us, who are beside us every day, leading productive lives, they fully deserve a say in matters that affect their lives.

For five years, I was unable to vote

Parole is not an extension of a sentence. When someone is released on parole, they are told that they are suitable to reenter society. This is the most important time for their community to embrace them, involve them, and ensure that are set up to—and expected to—succeed.

Voting is a fundamental right of citizenship, and each election that is missed by someone living in our community is a lost opportunity to shape the future of our country. It’s time for California to join the growing national movement to strengthen our democracy by everyone—
regardless of their past involvement with the criminal legal system—to have their voices counted.
Next week, ACA 6 will go before the Assembly floor. Please call your Assemblymember to encourage them to vote YES on ACA 6 and move California closer to the democratic ideal of full voting participation. Click the link here ([link removed][UNIQID]) to connect directly to your Assemblymember!

Sincerely,

Sam Lewis
Executive Director

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