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. When elections came up, I felt as though I still had not paid my debt to society. I felt as if I were not a part of my community, because I was not included in this important decision-making process. I would often think about how much had been sacrificed so that people of color could vote, and yet still I could not vote. I held a full-time job, and as a homeowner I paid all of my taxes. Like all ARC members, I continuously advocated and volunteered. Many ARC members are on parole for multiple years, sometimes lifetime parole. Yet, while working and paying taxes, they are unable to vote. Taxation without representation is in direct conflict with our democratic values.
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 empowering everyone—
regardless of their past involvement with the criminal legal system—to have their voices counted.
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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 to connect directly to your Assemblymember!
Sincerely,
Sam Lewis
Executive Director
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