The 2020 election is destined to be historic for many reasons:
* For Florida’s returning citizens, it will be the first time hundreds of thousands are eligible to vote in decades.

* Because of structural conditions that inform pre-existing conditions and health disparities, Black Americans have mortality rates 2-3 times higher than whites. In response, Black athletes, artists and activists developed innovative strategies to fight voter suppression in communities of color, including safeguarding polling places.

* Oregon will be the first state to decide whether to decriminalize possession of all drugs for personal use.

* And those in California are considering a ballot measure that not only impacts the lives of millions of justice-impacted persons, but will likely shape national reform efforts for years to come.

Vote for the people whose very lives are at stake. Voting is one tool we have to end mass incarceration, alongside culture and policy change, and organizing and mobilizing. We will use every tool at our disposal to upend the carceral system. Art for Justice is proud to share four recent grants to create a more perfect democracy and an end to mass incarceration.

Next Gen Protects Black Vote
Image by NAACP LDF + MORE THAN A VOTE

The Fund is supporting a collaboration between LeBron James’ More than a Vote Campaign (MTAV) and NAACP Legal Defense Fund (LDF) to undertake election protection work in Georgia, Michigan, Wisconsin, Florida, Ohio, North Carolina, Pennsylvania, Louisiana, Texas, Mississippi, Alabama, and South Carolina. This initiative aims to stop systemic, targeted suppression of Black voters in places where they’ve historically been threatened. One in thirteen Black Americans can’t vote due to disenfranchisement laws.

The MTAV Campaign was launched by a coalition of Black athletes and artists who came together amid the protests fueled by the police killings of George Floyd and Breonna Taylor. Their mission is to educate, energize and protect Black voters from systemic racism’s impact on their right to vote. By joining forces with LDF, a current grantee partner of Art for Justice known for its organizing and activism, they will address the threat of COVID-19 as a tool of suppression, the abuse of political power to make voting more difficult, and the misinformation intended to intimidate and deceive voters.

No one should be forced to put their health at risk to cast a ballot. MTAV and LDF will ensure safe, socially distanced voting in Black communities, including converting arenas and sports facilities into voting precincts. During the NBA play-offs, high-visibility media efforts were used to recruit youth activists to volunteer at polling sites. Traditionally, most poll workers are aged 60+, and at higher risk for contracting coronavirus. The Campaign sought 10,000 helpers, but secured 40,000 young people (mostly from communities of color) to ensure that Black voters across the country can make their voices heard.

Staying the Course on Criminal Justice Reforms
Image by No on Prop 20 Campaign

Proposition 20 is arguably the most consequential criminal justice ballot measure of this election cycle. It’s designed to roll back California’s progressive criminal sentencing and supervision laws that were passed between 2011-2016, including reforms resulting in a much smaller state prison population. Prop 20 is backed by those who wish to return to a “tough on crime” past, such as police unions, prison guards and conservative district attorneys. If approved, annual prison costs would increase by millions, parole restrictions would befall those convicted of nonviolent offenses, and felony sentences would be doled out with far greater regularity.

A grant has been made to the No on Proposition 20 Coalition, including Californians for Safety and Justice, former Governor Jerry Brown, and Lenore Anderson from Alliance for Safety and Justice, a grantee of the Fund. The expansive coalition also includes grassroots and faith leaders, the ACLU of California and victim advocacy groups – over one hundred partners in all.

A key strategy of the Campaign is to inform voters of the forces behind Prop 20 and expose the error of warehousing and prison spending as opposed to rehabilitation, crime prevention and treatment. Early polling shows support and opposition in a dead heat. A rejection of the measure would make it near impossible for anti-reformers in California to seek voter approval for regressive measures for years to come. Moreover, a Prop 20 defeat could signal a major blow to racialized fear mongering and national efforts to expand the carceral system.

Campaign to Decriminalize Drug Possession
Photo by Averie Cole

Simple drug possession is the most common offense in America, with 1.42 million arrests in 2018 alone. An arrest, even without a conviction, can lead to loss of employment, housing, parental rights, deportation and other negative outcomes. Action Fund Drug Policy Action, the 501c4 arm of the Drug Policy Alliance, is spearheading a groundbreaking ballot initiative in Oregon that would, for the first time ever in the US, decriminalize possession of all drugs for personal use. Measure 110 seeks to dismantle the system of punishment that is at the core of the drug war and repair the damage. It would decrease other drug-related penalties; increase access to health/harm reduction services; and fund these services with marijuana tax revenue ($100 million+ per year) and criminal legal system savings.

Black, Latinx, Indigenous and immigrant communities are disproportionately targeted and harmed by criminalization. It’s estimated that racial disparities in arrests for white and Black Oregonians would fall by 95% if Measure 110 is passed. This issue is much bigger than Oregon, however. A win would create a proof of concept and generate serious momentum for other states to build on, including New York, Vermont and Washington where decriminalization efforts are already underway.

An editorial endorsement from the Oregonian stated, “While some opponents credit the criminal justice system for helping force those with addictions into treatment, it’s not showing the success that this state needs. Broadening access to services so that adults—and juveniles—can easily get assistance is a public health solution more closely tied with what is ultimately a public health problem. Oregonians should vote ‘yes’ on Measure 110.”

Freeing Florida Voters with Felony Records from Fees/Fines
Desmond Meade, President of the Florida Rights Restoration Coalition. Photo courtesy of the Coalition.

In November of 2018, an overwhelming majority of Floridians voted to support Amendment 4. This proposition returned voting rights to those with felony convictions after they completed their terms of service, except for those convicted of murder and sexual offenses. In January of 2019, an estimated 1.4 million returned citizens became eligible to vote. Fast forward 18 months: the U.S. Court of Appeals for the 11th Circuit ruled that Floridians with felony records could not vote in November or future elections unless they pay all outstanding court fees and fines.

In response, Desmond Meade and Florida Rights Restoration Coalition (FRRC), a Fund grantee, launched the Fines and Fees Program to help returning citizens break down any barriers they may have to voting from financial obligations (e.g. fines, fees, or court costs). FRRC partnered with the League of Women Voters of Florida to develop an Attorney Assistance Program for pro bono attorneys to assist returning citizens through the process and advocate for relief as needed. Of the 1.4 million Floridians who were re-enfranchised via Amendment 4, almost 775,000 had fines and fees. To date, FFRC has paid the fines and fees of about 40,000 individuals. While proportionally, this number may seem small, it is almost 75 times greater than the margin of victory (537 people) that determined Florida’s 2000 presidential election.

Assistance is provided in the form of a scholarship-type award payable directly to the clerk of court for the county in which the returning citizen was convicted. FFRC sought to raise $30 million by the October 5th registration deadline to re-enfranchise these voters to participate in what is likely the most important election of our lifetime.
If you have questions about voting or see anything awry at the polls, call or text 866-OUR-VOTE for help.
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