American Civil Liberties Union of Alabama
Alabama Coalition to Restore the Vote
As second anniversary of Alabama’s felon re-enfranchisement law nears, thousands celebrate their newly restored right to vote
December 31, 2005
Montgomery -- Over 7,800 Alabama ex-felons have sought the right to vote since the Alabama Board of Pardons and Paroles began implementing the state’s new re-enfranchisement statute on December 24, 2003, according to figures provided by the Parole Board. This impressive number of applicants – more than 10 a day during this two-year period - should lay to rest any uncertainties about ex-felons’ interest in participating in the democratic process.
Of the 7,868 ex-felons who have applied for the Certificate of Eligibility to Register to Vote as provided in the statute, 3,740 certificates had been granted and 2,366 applications denied as of Dec. 19.
Most ex-felons whose applications were denied will be eligible to have their rights restored upon payment of fines and restitution. Approximately 200 applications are pending. Of the roughly 1,700 remaining applications, many were either requests for full pardons or submitted by applicants deemed eligible to vote without obtaining a certificate pursuant to an April 2005 Alabama attorney general’s opinion.
The ACLU of Alabama and the Alabama Restore the Vote Coalition have worked extensively throughout Alabama since passage of the law to inform ex-felons, their families, human rights groups and communities of faith about the voting rights of ex-felons under the new law.
“Restoring the right to vote to people who have committed felonies and paid their debt to society is one of the first steps in including all citizens in our democracy,” said Davena McRae, community advocate for the ACLU of Alabama.
The coalition’s goal is to provide information to three groups of ex-felons: those whose felonies did not involve crimes of moral turpitude and who, therefore, should not have been stripped of the right to vote; those who are eligible to get their right to vote back by obtaining a Certificate of Eligibility to Register to Vote; and those who can have their right to vote restored only through obtaining a pardon.
The coalition plans to continue these efforts by holding regional meetings around the state in 2006.
“As we approach the second anniversary of the implementation of the 2003 restoration law I am confident we will to see even more people who have been historically marginalized in our State seek and exercise the right to vote,” said McRae.
Prior to passage of the 2003 restoration law, Alabama disenfranchised close to a quarter-million people, including 31 percent of all African-American adult males in the state.
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