Marin Voice: Prop. 17 allows paroled citizens voting rights they deserve

Did you know that America is the only democracy in the world that allows its states to strip voting rights, even sometimes for life, as punishment for those who have been incarcerated?

On November’s ballot, Californians have a chance to vote yes on Proposition 17 to restore voting rights to former state inmates who have completed their prison sentence and are released on parole. As California’s parole population remains disproportionally non-White, the restoration of voting rights to parolees is another important step in our state support for Black Lives Matter.

Historically, voting restrictions disproportionately have affected people of color. In 1870, the 15th Amendment gave Black Americans the right to vote, but numerous states, including California, were quick to pass measures intended to curb Black political power. No doubt, poll taxes and literacy tests would never fly in today’s California — so why does a Jim Crow era voting prohibition for those on parole still exist? Proposition 17 is a step toward righting historical wrongs.

Disenfranchisement is a significant racial concern here in California. In this state, one in 16 Black citizens are disenfranchised due to time spent in state prison. According to the Sentencing Project, while Black Americans are 6.5% of our state’s population, they constitute 26% of the parole population. Disenfranchisement impacts California’s Latino community markedly as well: at 35% of the state’s population, Latino parolees are 40% of total parolees. At least 2% of our Latino population remain disenfranchised due to time spent in state prison.

Passing Proposition 17 will end disenfranchisement right away for over 50,000 former state inmates (largely people of color), who are on parole currently.

California is far behind other states on the restoration of voting rights for parolees. According to California Assembly member Kevin McCarty, who authored Proposition 17, 19 other states allow people to vote upon the completion of their prison sentence. If former inmates are expected to work jobs and pay taxes to the state during their parole, as other citizens do, then shouldn’t they also have their voting rights restored in exchange for that taxation?

Restoring voting rights to those on parole also helps to reduce crime. In 2011, the Florida Parole Commission issued a report showing that in 2009-2010, 30,672 former offenders who had their voting rights restored had a recidivism rate of 11.1%, compared to a 33.1% recidivism rate for former prisoners who did not have their voting rights restored in the years prior. This test case scenario in Florida showed that the restoration of former inmates’ voting rights helped them to reintegrate into society while reducing recidivism, goals worthy of California’s full support.

Opponents of Proposition 17 believe that certain former state prisoners who have committed what they consider to be more “serious” crimes should not have their voting rights restored until their parole is completed, even though withholding the right to vote offers no restorative justice to victims of former crimes. These opponents view the completion of parole as required proof of rehabilitation before full citizenship, including voting rights, are restored — even though these same prisoners, once released and working, bear many of the responsibilities of citizenship, like paying taxes.

Since 1974, California has had a process by which voting rights can be restored to former state prisoners upon completion of their parole. By passing Proposition 17 we should continue the progress we have made here in California on this issue and restore voting rights earlier, just as over 20 other states presently do. We feel strongly that neither the specific type of crime committed, nor the color of the inmates’ skin should have any bearing on the restoration of their right to vote once they are no longer incarcerated.

Please vote yes on Proposition 17 to show that you, too, feel that voting is a right and that you believe that the Black and Latino votes of “returning citizens” matter here in California.

In the best interest of combating recidivism and integrating former state prisoners back into civil society, California should take the next step in racial equity and no longer disenfranchise parolees.

Jennifer Gonzalez, of San Rafael, and Roxane Williams, of Redwood City, are graduate students in the Suzanne Dworak-Peck School of Social Work at the University of Southern California.