Felon Voting

In a major victory for civil rights, the General Assembly approved sending to the voters in November 2006 a proposed constitutional amendment to restore the right to vote to felons upon release from incarceration. Presently, felons lose their voting rights until their sentence of probation or parole is completed, which can be years or even decades after they have returned to the community and become productive, tax-paying members of society. The restriction has had a particularly devastating impact on African-Americans in Rhode Island. In fact, because of its lengthy parole and probation sentences, Rhode Island disenfranchises a higher percentage of blacks than many Southern states. The ACLU, which helped draft the constitutional amendment, is part of a broad-based coalition that will be working to get the proposal approved by the voters next year.