The Real Cost of Prisons Weblog

"Voter registration drives are an essential part of our democracy, and this action by the GOP and the Department of Corrections smacks of voter intimidation," said Rev. Kenneth Glasgow, founder and executive director of The Ordinary People's Society, the group leading the registration drive. "Our focus isn't politics, it's restoration. We're just doing what the Bible says, visiting people in prison and ministering to them. The chairman of the Republican Party and the chairman of the Democratic Party can go into prisons with us and monitor the registration process to make sure it's nonpartisan, if that's a concern."

In Alabama, nearly 250,000 people have been stripped their voting rights due to a felony conviction. But in a 2006 court ruling in Alabama, a judge found that only those convicted of felonies of "moral turpitude" lose their right to vote. The judge found that certain felonies—such as drug possession—do not constitute crimes of moral turpitude, and therefore individuals convicted of those crimes do not lose their right to vote, even during incarceration. Alabama's Attorney General, Troy King, concurred with the ruling. This change could have an impact on nearly 70,000 Alabamians, including nearly 10,000 currently incarcerated in state prisons on drug charges alone.

In 2008, President George W. Bush signed the Second Chance Act, which supports the process of people with felony convictions re-entering society by funding programs inside and outside prisons to increase civic participation upon their release. Bush, the country's top Republican, also has expressed support for the restoration of voting rights to people with felony convictions.

"Alabama state law makes it clear that people incarcerated for simple drug possession never lose their right to vote, even while incarcerated," said Glasgow. "The GOP and the Alabama Department of Corrections cannot decide on their own which constituencies are going to have access to the vote, and which will be barred from it. We live in a democracy, after all."

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Associated Press
GOP opposes letting prisoners register to vote
9/19/2008
By JAY REEVES

BIRMINGHAM, Ala. (AP) — The Alabama Republican Party opposes a drive to register inmates to vote so they can cast absentee ballots from inside state prisons, with the state GOP chief saying Thursday there needs to be safeguards against voter fraud.

State Rep. Mike Hubbard, chairman of the party, told Corrections Commissioner Richard Allen in a letter delivered by e-mail that the party supports the idea of registering more people to vote, but not when it comes to prisoners.

"Furthermore, I have concerns about potential issues with how this effort is being monitored to ensure no form of voter fraud occurs," Hubbard wrote. He asked Allen to outline the prison system's plans for preventing fraud.

Prison spokesman Brian Corbett said the commissioner was working on a response and declined further comment.

Hubbard's letter came two days after The Associated Press reported that a coalition of groups led by a community activist, the Rev. Kenneth Glasgow, began registering inmates to vote in state lockups this week. Nearly 80 filled out registration forms in two days.

Glasgow, a Democrat from Dothan who served time for robbery and drug convictions, said no one with the state has told him to stop registering inmates. He plans to continue the effort with other members of the coalition, which he said includes Republicans and Democrats.

"I think they're more worried about me being a Democrat than anything," said Glasgow. "The chairman of the Republican Party and the chairman of the Democratic Party can go in there with me and monitor it to make sure it's nonpartisan."

Glasgow, a pastor, intends to turn in the registration forms and return to the lockups later to make sure inmates mail in absentee forms. He said the project is about human rights and preparing prisoners to return to society, not politics.

"We're just doing what the Bible says, visiting people in prison and ministering to them," he said.

About 3,000 people could be eligible to vote from inside Alabama prisons, Glasgow said, and he plans to register as many as possible in coming weeks.

Alabama law prohibits felons convicted of "crimes of moral turpitude" from voting unless they have had their rights restored. State law doesn't define such crimes, but court opinions have said they include major offenses like murder, robbery and rape plus some lesser offenses, like taking a stolen car across state lines.

Glasgow's drive is concentrating on registering prisoners who have been convicted only of drug possession, which an attorney general's opinion issued in 2005 did not define as a crime of moral turpitude.

Confusion over which crimes involve "moral turpitude" has led to litigation seeking the restoration of prisoners' voting rights. The most recent was filed in July by the American Civil Liberties Union on behalf of three ex-inmates.

Associated Press
State inmates register to vote in prison
By Jay Reeves
September 17, 2008

BIRMINGHAM -- Alabama inmates are registering to vote from prison in a precedent-set­ting effort organized by activist groups with the blessing of state corrections officials.

Nearly 80 prisoners had filled out registration forms during drives at two lockups, and organizers plan to help them and hundreds more obtain absentee ballots in time to vote in the presidential election on Nov. 4.

Laura Schley, 34, has eight months left on a four-year sen­tence for illegal possession of prescription drugs. She had a hard time believing she was reg­istering Tuesday at the Bir­mingham Work Release Center.

"It just blew my mind," said Schley, who was wearing prison whites. "My voting rights are very important to me and have been ever since I was 18."

The state attorney general's office issued an opinion seven years ago that inmates could vote from inside prison using absentee ballots. But confusion and lawsuits followed over which felons had that right be­cause of a murky phrase in state law.

Corrections spokesman Brian Corbett said no one previ­ously had registered prisoners to vote in Alabama.

"It's something that we sup­port and authorized for them to do," said Corbett.

The drive is led by Kenneth Glasgow of Dothan, who served 14 years on robbery and drug charges and is now a pastor. Glasgow said restoring voting rights is essential to returning felons to society.

"What we're interested in is not so much the politics but the restoration of people's lives," Glasgow said.

Glasgow is state coordinator of a coalition that includes the Drug Policy Alliance, which ad­vocates reforms including a move toward treatment rather than prison time for drug users.

Angela Wright, in the work-release center for cocaine pos­session, said she has to study be­fore casting her vote for either Republican John McCain or Democrat Barack Obama for president.

"I haven't really even been paying attention because I fig­ured it was a lost cause," Wright said after filling out a registra­tion form.

Studies have estimated that more than 250,000 Alabama resi­dents are barred from voting be­cause of criminal records.

State law says those con­victed of crimes of "moral turpi­tude" can't vote unless they have their rights restored by the state. The law does not state ex­actly which crimes are bad enough to make that list. Turpi­tude is defined as "baseness, vil­eness, depravity."

The state attorney general's office has said those offenses in­clude murder, rape, multiple sex and obscenity offenses, bur­glary, robbery, forgery, conspir­acy to commit fraud, aggravated assault, drug sales, bigamy, im­peachment, treason and trans­porting stolen vehicles out of state.

Others convicted of lesser crimes such as possession of small amounts of drugs, battery or attempted burglary are eligi­ble to vote, even from inside prison.

Glasgow, who coordinates a coalition of eight prisoners' rights groups, is registering in­mates convicted only of drug possession. He previously regis­tered hundreds in county jails across the state.

Many convicted on drug charges also were sentenced for other crimes. Prison system sta­tistics don't indicate how many inmates are behind bars only for drug possession.

Glasgow believes about 3,000 people could be eligible to vote from inside Alabama prisons, and he plans to register as many as possible in coming weeks.

Completed voter registration forms will be sent to the secre­tary of state's office and volun­teers will return to state lockups to make sure prisoners cast their absentee ballots.

A Jefferson County judge in 2006 ordered the state to let all convicted felons vote because the law failed to define offenses or moral turpitude, but the Ala­bama Supreme Court over­turned the decision.