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Mid Hudson Times, Wednesday, June 19, 2019
Voting reform rally held in Newburgh
Activist groups from the Hudson Valley held a press conference at the Fresh Start Café in the City of Newburgh on Thursday, June 13 to rally for the restoration of voting rights to parolees.
By ILYSSA DALY
Back in January, New York State passed
voting reforms that made voting easier
and accessible for residents. Though early
voting and consolidated primaries seemed
like progress, government officials and
community leaders from the Hudson
Valley think that much more needs to be
done. Activist groups from the Hudson
Valley held a press conference at the
Fresh Start Café in the City of Newburgh
on Thursday, June 13 to rally for the
restoration of voting rights to parolees.
Two bills that concern granting
automatic voter registration and voting
rights restorations for people on parole
are currently in session in both New
York’s Senate and Assembly, but have not
gone to the floor yet.
The rally’s location, the Fresh Start
Café, is the state designated anti-poverty
agency in Orange County and the
workforce development program that is
spearheaded by the Regional Economic
Community Action Program (RECAP).
It “allows people who are unemployed,
underemployed, recently released from
incarceration, and those who need a job
[to] come here and learn professional
skills, learn culinary and business
development,” says Michelle McKeon,
RECAP’s chief operating officer.
McKeon is a staunch supporter of the
proposed reforms. “Full voting rights
need to be restored from people who have
paid their debts to society the moment
they step out of prison,” McKeon says.
“That is non-negotiable and that is a
right.”
In April of 2018, Governor Andrew
Cuomo signed an executive order that
restored voting rights to people on parole.
But, according to Sharon Wong of the
Lower Hudson Valley Chapter of the New
York Civil Liberties Union (NCLU), New
York’s registration rates are still “among
the lowest in the country, and our felony
disenfranchisement laws are in terrible
vestige of Jim Crow,” she says.
Wong believes that by instituting
voter registration and allowing people
re-engage with the United States’ political
system, people who are released from
prison will help change New York’s
“dismal political participation and give
New Yorkers a voice in our government,”
she explains.
New York State law strips felony
offenders of their right to vote, and it is
not given back to them until after they
have completed parole. Out of the 30,000
people on parole in New York, around
75% are either black or Latino. Once
out of prison, “the criminal legal system
demands that the formerly incarcerated
folks become productive and participating
members of society, without the right to
vote, [and] that demand is a cynical one,”
Wong says.
“I’m standing in front of everybody as
a person who, last year for the first time,
voted in my life,” declares Angelo Pagan,
a workforce development instructor
with Exodus Transitional Community.
“And, the reason why I didn’t vote was
because prior to voting, I served 25 years
of incarceration. I went in at the age of
18 and I came home at the age of 43,” he
continues.
Though it may seem a small issue to
many, Pagan cites his eligibility to vote
as “one of many more reasons for me
to not go back to prison. And I have to
look for as many reasons as possible.” He
believes that the ability to vote keeps him
productive, as “some of us have to work
harder than others to get our lives back.”
Also in attendance was Orange County
Legislator Kevindaryán Luján, who
expressed his utmost support. “We have
to make elections easier for people,” he
says. “I stand with all of you proudly, to
say that I stand in favor of these bills.”
Geri Wilcott, a member of End the
Jim Crow Network (ENJAN) wants to
“end the New Jim Crow now.” She says
that members of ENJAN support the
restoration of voting rights to all formerly
incarcerated individuals who may be on
parole.
City of Newburgh Mayor Torrance
Harvey additionally expressed his
endorsement of the bills, saying,
“When we talk about automatic voting
registration and restoring the ability for
parolees to vote, this is a no-brainer.”
If states give parolees the right to
vote after incarceration, there will be
“decreased recidivism and improve public
safety, as parolees re-integrate into their
community and civic life,” says Wong.
As for automatic voter registration, she
believes that it is fundamental to our
democracy.
“Having a voice should not be
something that is considered a privilege,”
says Pagan. “As a person that is deeply
invested in the community that I live in
right now, whether it’s economic well-
being [or] spiritual well-being...people
need to be aware of the importance of
having a “say-so” in the future.”
For more information regarding these
bills, visit letnyvote.org/ to learn more.