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Justice Maryland, a coalition of advocates for ex-offenders, rallied in frigid temperatures in front of the State House, calling on legislators to restore voting rights to felons who have completed their sentences and pleading for Gov. Robert L. Ehrlich Jr. to earmark $50 million in his budget for drug treatment funding.

It is part of the group's campaign to reduce the number of prisoners incarcerated for nonviolent offenses and divert them to drug treatment. Advocates have been pushing for an increase in such programs for years. More than 250,000 Marylanders are in need of substance-abuse treatment, Justice Maryland estimates.

Ehrlich and Democratic lawmakers have supported increased access to treatment, but advocates said they want a larger piece of this year's $1 billion budget surplus to confront problems such as long waiting lists. An estimated 30,000 people in Baltimore alone are awaiting spots in treatment programs, advocates said.

"We want full recovery from the addiction, we want full recovery from incarceration," said Tara Andrews, executive director of Justice Maryland.
Afterward, civil rights activists, drug treatment advocates and about 200 people enrolled in Baltimore-area drug treatment centers entered the House of Delegates office building to speak face to face with lawmakers about their concerns.
The political will to confront drug treatment issues is lacking, advocates said, because many felons in Maryland are restricted from voting.
They hope lawmakers will pass legislation authorizing the automatic restoration of voting rights when felons are released from prison. Similar legislation has failed in the past.
Del. Salima S. Marriott, a West Baltimore Democrat who has supported the legislation, said the issue is essential in an election year.
"I think that we as a party who stand for democratic principles must, this year more than any year, ensure that all adults who are not incarcerated can vote," she said in an interview. "For me, it is so important because there are many people in my district who are not able to vote. To the extent that they are disenfranchised, so am I."

While Maryland restores voting rights for some convicted felons, just who is banned under current law can be difficult to decipher.

People convicted of one "infamous crime" - a category that includes fraud and corruption - may register to vote after completing their sentences. Those convicted of two or more nonviolent crimes can register three years after completing their sentences. The state prohibits voting by felons twice convicted of violent crimes, such as murder. Marvin "Doc" Cheatham, president of the Baltimore branch of the National Association for the Advancement of Colored People, said elections officials and citizens are not sure who is eligible to vote because no statewide database records such information.

He estimates that 60,000 people statewide - 10,000 in Baltimore alone - are eligible to vote but don't know it.

"The saddest thing is the state of Maryland totally fails in educating former felons what their rights are," he said. Cheatham said some felons who are uncertain of their rights are afraid to register to vote because of a state law that deems it a felony if someone registers who is technically not eligible.

Nationally, states vary widely concerning felons' voting rights. Three states permanently bar all felons from voting, while a handful of others, including Maryland, prohibit some ex-offenders from voting, according to the Sentencing Project, which advocates the restoration of voting rights for all ex-offenders. Only Maine and Vermont allow inmates to vote.

The Maryland branch of the American Civil Liberties Union and others have criticized Maryland's law, saying it is more restrictive than others and disproportionately hurts African-Americans, who have historically faced discriminatory voting practices.
Roderick Stewart, 29, of Baltimore said he attended the rally because he thinks ex-offenders are entitled to a better quality of life. Since his release from prison last year, he said, he has been enrolled at a drug treatment center.
"I want to ask them [legislators] what they are doing for ex-offenders," he said. "I want to ask them why I don't have the right to vote."

http://www.baltimoresun.com/news/local/bal-md.felons17jan17,1,7450483.story?coll=bal-local-headlines&ctrack=1&cset=true)