This bill was not brought up for vote this year. It is a multi -year project .All our Wiscopnsin legislators need to hear from you the voters that you want this bill > They are not against it and it would pass quickly if there were vocal support from the public. The drums of revenge beat loudly in this state and our elected officails need we who believe in the right to vote, to help them find their courage.
Wisconsin Democracy Restoration Act Introduced in Assembly
July 14, 2009 ; Tamara Grigsby
Legislation seeks restoration of voting rights for 42,000 Wisconsin Citizens
Madison – Today, State Representative Tamara Grigsby (D-Milwaukee) introduced legislation that will restore voting rights for 42,000 Wisconsin citizens and help communities foster public safety through increased civic engagement. The Wisconsin Democracy Restoration Act restores voting rights to incarcerated individuals following their period of imprisonment. Under current law, individuals with felony convictions are denied the right to vote until completion of probation, parole, and extended supervision.
“After their period of incarceration, parolees and probationers return to our communities and our places of work,” Grigsby said. “These men and women have served their time and now seek reintegration into society. As their neighbors and family members and, above all, as their fellow citizens, who are we to deny their right to vote? This legislation takes a step forward in addressing the need for every citizen to be invested in their community, regardless of past mistakes and wrongdoings.”
According to Grigsby, the Wisconsin Democracy Restoration Act is critical to combating the racial disparities that hinder Wisconsin’s Black communities. In Wisconsin, one in nine Black voters has lost the right to vote, compared to one in fifty voters statewide. As a result, Wisconsin has the 11th highest rate of Black voter disenfranchisement in the United States.
“Too many in the Black community have been divorced from political life due to our disenfranchisement policies, yet we must remember that our current voting laws impact all Wisconsinites, black and white, urban and rural,” Grigsby said. “The legitimacy to lead stems from the strength of our democracy, which is precisely why the Wisconsin Democracy Restoration Act is so important. We can only hope to stand for democracy in the world if we first stand for it for everyone at home.”
Legislation similar to the Wisconsin Democracy Restoration Act has been implemented in 18 states since 1997, including neighboring Illinois and Michigan. In addition, voting rights for individuals released from incarceration are supported by the American Bar Association, the American Probation and Parole Association, the National Black Police Association, and more than 70 Wisconsin-based organizations, including the American Civil Liberties Union of Wisconsin.
The Wisconsin Democracy Restoration Act is coauthored by Representative Marlin Schneider (D-Wisconsin Rapids), Representative Joe Parisi (D-Madison), and Senator Lena Taylor (D-Milwaukee). In addition to the authors, this legislation has already gained extensive support, with 16 cosponsors throughout the legislature.
press release
WHO can VOTE in WI
WHat can I do to Help?- ACLU BLURB
WHO CAN VOTE IN WISCONSIN?
You May Vote in Wisconsin If:
? You will be at least 18 years old by Election Day;
? You are a U.S. citizen by birth or by naturalization. (If you were born in Puerto Rico, you are AUTOMATICALLY a U.S. citizen.)
? You will be a Wisconsin resident for at least 10 days by Election Day;
? You have registered to vote - or you register on Election Day. (If you’ve registered from a different address in the past, you must register again at your new address.)
What Do I Do if I Have to Register?
? If you have a current, valid, Wisconsin driver’s license, bring it so you can write your license number on the voter registration card. If you don’t have a current, valid, Wisconsin driver’s license, you still CAN register by writing the last 4 digits of your social security number or state ID card on the registration card, or by checking the box that says you don’t have any of these documents.
? You prove where you live. If you’re registering on Election Day, if you registered by mail, if you registered after January 30, or if you registered in a registration drive, bring a document with your name & current address, like a driver’s license, state ID, recent utility bill, property tax bill, lease, bank statement, or pay check, OR go to the polls with a voter who knows where you live and who has proof of their own residency.
You May Vote EVEN IF:
? You don’t have a driver’s license or “photo ID;”
? You are an Ex-Felon (as long as you no longer have to report to a probation or parole officer because of a Felony conviction. YOUR CIVIL RIGHTS ARE AUTOMATICALLY RESTORED WHEN YOU ARE “OFF PAPER.” If you’ve only been convicted of a Misdemeanor, you CAN vote – even while serving a Misdemeanor sentence);
? You don’t speak English (as long as you are a U.S. citizen);
? You are a Student living away from your parents (you can choose to vote where you live for school OR where you last resided before attending school. You may not vote twice.)
American Civil Liberties Union of Wisconsin, www.aclu-wi.org
207 E Buffalo St., Milwaukee WI 53202, 414-272-4032
February 18, 2008
Restore the Vote Wisconsin! What Can I do to Help?
Are you interested in working to build the coalition specifically to work on voting rights in Wisconsin?
Suggested Public Education activities
1. Organize a Speaker's Bureau to travel around the state.
2. Letters to the Editor and Op-Eds statewide
3. Talk to your friends and neighbors about this issue .
4. Hand out flyers at events in your area.
5. Blog about it.
6. Show Democracy's Ghosts to your constituency, friends, neighbors, colleagues, etc,..
7. Organize a petition drive
8. Ask your faith leaders, organizations you belong to, boards you sit on, and other affiliations you may have influence in to contact us and join the coalition.
9. Put information up on your website
10. Issue press releases in support from you or your organizations
11. Potential large public rally or march to raise the profile of the issue with the media and general public in 2009??
12. Add an article on felon enfranchisement to your newsletter, faith bulletin, etc,..
13. Identify compelling personal stories of people in your constituencies willing to speak up or do media, give stories to etc...
14. Collect and send names, addresses and emails of people interested in helping to advance this issue. Send people to www.acki-wi.org to sign up for our Activist Network.
activities to advance
1. Contact your state legislators and ask them to support the right of felons to vote after incarceration
2. After educating your friends and neighbors, ask them to call their legislators
3. Watch developments on the issue in the state legislature and be prepared to act on them.
4. Issue press releases to support legislative actions
5. Talk to everyone! Don't assume that your legislator is going to be unfriendly to this issue, this issue is non-partisan all over the country and support for the voting rights comes from both sides of the aisle in many states! If your legislator is not supportive it's important to find out why and to keep the pressure on!
Most importantly, as we educate Wisconsin's public on voting rights together, it's important to let us know what you are working on, where and to whom you spoken to and to collect clippings in newspapers, and on the web so we can keep track of our progress. Please send an email to liberty@aclu-wi.org to let us know what YOU have accomplished!