February 25, 2018
Legislators, mayors, & 80 organizations sign on in support of restoring voting rights to New Jerseyans on parole, on probation, and in prison
On February 26 at 11:00 AM, Senator Ronald L. Rice, Senator Sandra Cunningham, Assemblywoman Sumter, and the New Jersey Institute for Social Justice are hosting a press conference to announce the introduction of legislation to end New Jersey’s practice of denying the right to vote to people with criminal convictions.
“Today is a historic day. Today is the anniversary of the introduction of the 15th Amendment, which outlawed racial discrimination in voting,” said Senator Rice. “But almost 150 years after its adoption a disproportionate number of Black New Jerseyans are still denied the right to vote. My bill seeks to realize the promise of the 15th Amendment by severing the link between the fundamental right to vote and involvement in the criminal justice system.”
Joining Senator Rice, Senator Cunningham, Assemblywoman Sumter, and the Institute in their call for the restoration of voting rights for people with convictions are eighty organizations, including the ACLU of New Jersey, NAACP New Jersey State Conference, the New Jersey Association on Correction, and the League of Women Voters of New Jersey. For a listing of organizations that support the restoration of voting rights for people on parole, probation, and in prison, please click here.
Senator Sandra Cunningham, primary sponsor of the Senate bill, and Assemblywoman Shavonda Sumter, primary sponsor of the companion bill in the Assembly, urged New Jersey leaders to be bold.
“I call on Governor Murphy and my colleagues to be bold,” said Senator Sandra Cunningham. “If we are serious about criminal justice reform and access to democracy, New Jersey must guarantee the fundamental right to vote to all its citizens, whether in prison or living in the community while on parole or probation.”
Assemblywoman Sumter added: “This is an opportunity for New Jersey to lead the nation as a model of racial justice and democracy. I look forward to working with my colleagues to ensure that no one loses the right to vote because of a conviction.”
“New Jersey enacted its first broad ban on voting by people with criminal convictions in 1844, the same year it adopted a state Constitution that restricted voting to white men and a time when slavery was still legal in New Jersey,” said Ryan Haygood, Institute President and CEO. “New Jersey’s ban on voting for people in prison, on parole, or on probation remains a moral stain on our state. We are proud to stand here today to demand an end to this anti-democratic practice and declare that we are 1844 no more.”
Mayor Ras Baraka (Newark), Mayor Ravi S. Bhalla (Hoboken), Mayor Steve Fulop (Jersey City), Mayor Adrian Mapp (Plainfield), and Mayor Michael Venezia (Bloomfield), , have also declared their support for ending the state’s ban on voting for people with convictions.
“As the mayor of Hoboken and as a civil rights attorney, I am proud to condemn our state’s practice of denying the right to vote to people with convictions,” said Mayor Bhalla. “The practice is undemocratic and it is unjust. It is time for New Jersey to restore the fundamental right to vote to those on parole, on probation, and in prison.”
Just five counties—Essex, Camden, Hudson, Monmouth, and Ocean—are home to almost half of those removed from the rolls. Those same five counties contain 46 percent of the state’s Black population.
“This is a racial justice issue,” said Mayor Baraka. “By linking the right to vote to an institution infected with racism, we are systematically disfranchising Black voters. And it’s having a disproportionate impact on our urban areas. This is as shameful a practice as poll taxes or literacy tests.”
Although Black people comprise just 15 percent of New Jersey’s overall population, they represent, incredibly, about half of those who have lost their voting rights as a result of a criminal conviction, according to the Institute’s report, We Are 1844 No More: Let Us Vote.
“Taking away the right to vote from anyone, for any reason, undermines the very notion of democracy,” said ACLU-NJ Executive Director Amol Sinha. “As the world’s largest jailer, with a prison system that has racial inequality as a hallmark, our government lacks moral authority to strip anyone of their electoral power. Everyone deserves to have a say in a democracy. A criminal conviction does not erase our humanity, and it should not invalidate our voice.”
Overall, 5.28 percent of New Jersey’s Black voting age population was denied the right to vote in the 2016 Presidential election, a rate over twice that of many of our neighbors in the Northeast.
“Denying people the right to vote because of a criminal conviction is not only antidemocratic but it is immoral. The right to vote is a fundamental right,” added Rev. Charles Boyer. “Due, in part, to systemic racism in the criminal justice system, this fundamental right is being denied to a disproportionate number of Black New Jerseyans.”
New Jersey currently denies the right to vote to more than 94,000 people with criminal convictions—more than the total population of Trenton, the state’s capital, according to the Institute’s report.
“As a formerly incarcerated person who now leads two successful businesses and works to help people returning from prison develop job and leadership skills, I can tell you that being part of the community and having a voice in the decisions that shape that community is essential to successful rehabilitation and reentry, said Tracey Syphax, an entrepreneur, author, motivational speaker, and a White House “Champion of Change” honoree.
Institute Legal Intern and Rutgers student Ron Pierce is denied the right to vote because he is currently on parole.
“This law strikes at the very heart of what it means to be a human being,” said Pierce. “What is a democracy if you don’t have the right to vote? To strip an individual of their fundamental right to vote is to deny that individual their personhood. To vote has value to the soul.”
Eighty organizations have signed on in support of restoring voting rights to people on parole, probation, and in prison, including direct service organizations, student groups, the business community, the re-entry and corrections field, labor, racial justice groups, women’s organizations, and many others.
“The broad support that we’ve seen from the community—80 organizations in support—is a testament to how deeply New Jersey residents value the fundamental right to vote,” said Scott Novakowski, primary author of the Institute’s report, We Are 1844 No More: Let Us Vote. “Just as we do not deny a person the fundamental right to medical care or the right to practice their religion, we should not deny people their fundamental democratic voice. We can, and must, do better,”.
“This is a matter of democracy,” said Jesse Burns, Executive Director of the League of Women Voters of New Jersey. “By restoring the right to vote to people with convictions, this bill will help create a more inclusive democracy in New Jersey.”
Note to reporters: When referring to people who are denied the right to vote we politely ask that you use the following phrases: people with convictions, people on parole, people on probation, people in prison, or people who are incarcerated. We kindly ask you to avoid dehumanizing language like convicts, criminals, prisoners, inmates, or felons.