“The time is right for Massachusetts to end felony disenfranchisement.”

Prison

Testimony in Support of S.18 and H.74

Legislative Amendment to the Constitution Relative to Voting Rights

Joint Committee on Election Laws

April 26, 2020

Dear Chairman Finegold, Chairman Ryan, and members of the Election Laws Committee, 

We, the Democracy Behind Bars Coalition, are writing in support of S. 18 sponsored by Senator Adam Hinds and H. 74 sponsored by Representative Mindy Domb. We believe it is time to take the first step to restore voting rights to people incarcerated for felony convictions. Therefore we urge you to send S. 18 and H. 74 out of committee with a favorable review to create a path for voting rights to be restored through legislative amendment or ballot initiative.

In Massachusetts, we strip incarcerated citizens of the ability to exercise their political voice even though they are our most governed population. This happens through de jure disenfranchisement for those serving felony convictions, and de facto disenfranchisement for those held pre-trial or on misdemeanor convictions, as even eligible voters behind bars have virtually no access to a ballot. These systems systematically revoke political power from hyper-policed Black communities and communities of color. We, the Democracy Behind Bars Coalition, are working to end both de facto and de jure disenfranchisement, but we write today specifically in support of S. 18 and H. 74 to end the de jure disenfranchisement of those serving felony convictions. 

As you will read in testimony submitted today by currently and formerly incarcerated leaders of our coalition, maintaining the right to vote is critical to protect the dignity, wellbeing, and fundamental humanity of incarcerated people. Stripping people serving felony convictions of their right to vote serves no restorative or rehabilitative function, and it has no deterrent effect on crime. It distorts democratic outcomes and maintains mass incarceration. Felony disenfranchisement and jail-based disenfranchisement are certainly not the only culprits – redressing these issues alone will not solve mass incarceration or political inequality – but they are direct holdovers from slavery, Jim Crow, and voter suppression practices that target Black voters and voters of color, skew representation and public policy outcomes, and have no place in a racially equitable democracy. 

The time is right for Massachusetts to end felony disenfranchisement. 

In Massachusetts, individuals serving sentences on felony convictions lost the right to vote twenty years ago as a result of a ballot initiative and constitutional amendment put forth by the acting Governor Cellucci. It was a punitive measure in response to civic engagement initiatives by incarcerated individuals in the Norfolk Prison. This is a dark stain on Massachusetts’ history that took place at a moment when some states were beginning to move in the opposite direction and liberalize voting rights for the formerly incarcerated and ‘tough on crime’ was beginning to pivot to ‘smart on crime.’ 

Twenty years later, it is time to restore the right to vote to all incarcerated Bay Staters. Especially in a moment when voting rights and democracy itself are under attack, it is critical that we in Massachusetts actively and unapologetically work to protect our democracy – especially the political voice of our Black communities and communities of color who have systematically been the target of hyper-policing, mass incarceration, voter suppression attempts, and gerrymandering. 

As a coalition advocating to end the disenfranchisement of eligible incarcerated voters (those serving misdemeanors and imprisoned pre-trial) and to bolster the political power of returning citizens, we know all too well that felony disenfranchisement has effects that extend far beyond whether those serving felony convictions can vote. Eligible voters behind the wall and returned citizens in community frequently do not vote specifically because of confusion about the extent and duration of disenfranchisement within the criminal legal system. 

Now is the time to end the disenfranchisement of those behind the wall in Massachusetts. We must undo the punitive and harmful measure passed 20 years ago, and rejoin Vermont, Maine, and Washington DC in recognizing that the right to vote should never be taken away. 

We would like to thank Senator Adam Hinds and Representative Mindy Domb for their leadership on this critical legislation. 

Thank you for your consideration, and we hope to continue working with you to protect access to the ballot for all people in the Commonwealth. 

The Democracy Behind Bars Coalition, which includes:

The African American Coalition Committee (AACC)

The ACLU of Massachusetts

Common Cause Massachusetts

Decarcerate Western Massachusetts

Emancipation Initiative

Families for Justice as Healing

Healing Our Land, Inc. 

The National Council for Incarcerated & Formerly Incarcerated Women & Girls

The Massachusetts Voter Table

MassPOWER
Mass Political Cooperative

MOCHA

Progressive Massachusetts

Prisoners Legal Services

PM in the News: The Fight for Election Day Registration

Progressive Mass Issues Committee chair Jonathan Cohn was quoted in a Boston.com article today about the right for Election Day Registration in Massachusetts:

“The biggest obstacle is that many legislators view elections only through a lens of incumbent protection or self-preservation and are afraid of seeing voters they don’t already know or haven’t already spoken with show up to the polls,” Jonathan Cohn, the issues committee chair for the group Progressive Massachusetts, told Boston.com.

Additionally, with Massachusetts’s early September primary, the current registration deadline for the primary often passes before many college students have moved in. In the college-dense Boston area, Cohn thinks some legislators oppose same-day registration due to fear that student constituents could back their opponents, particularly in the House where it’s easier to swing a seat.