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May 12, 2006
RI: If ballot measure is approced, DOC would have to assist people leaving prison on voting
Rhode Island: Senate Approves Bill That Would Streamline Restoration Process
May 12, 2006
The state Senate has approved a bill that details the registration process for restoring voting rights to persons with felony convictions on probation or parole. The bill, known as the Rhode Island Restoration of Voting Rights Act, follows an approval last year from the General Assembly to place the issue of re-enfranchisement on the November ballot. If the ballot proposal receives voter approval, the bill would require the Department of Corrections to provide voter registration forms and offer assistance to incarcerated persons prior to leaving prison. More than 15,500 residents of Rhode Island have lost their right to vote due to felony convictions; 86% of those persons are not in prison, but are on probation or parole. “Rhode Island has the nation’s second highest rate of people on probation and is the only state in New England that prohibits voting for residents serving time in prison or on probation or parole,” reports the Associated Press. The bill would hold the Department of Corrections responsible to initiate and streamline the restoration process.
Posted by lois at May 12, 2006 09:32 PM