While most liberals damned this year's legislative session in Olympia thanks to the severe cuts in social services, one good thing—according to the Left–was how well things went on the civil liberties front. 

As the session came to a close last month,PubliCola interviewed Shankar Narayan, the ACLU's lobbyist in Olympia, and he gave us a detailed report. 

One thing Nasrayan hyped was legislation that automatically restored voting rights for ex-felons:

...a Sen. Jeane Kohl-Welles’ (D-36, Ballard) and Rep. Jeannie Darneille (D-27, Fife)  bill that restored voting rights for felons once they’d served their time (current law doesn’t restore voting rights until former felons pay off all their legal bills—an obstacle that keeps former felons disengaged and works against recidivism rates, Narayan explains...

Gov. Chris Gregoire is signing the legislation into law today. The ACLU is psyched. Their press release explains the significance of the new law: 

Under existing state law, more than 167,000 Washington citizens who have prior convictions currently are prohibited from voting. Many of them have completed their prison time and community custody time, yet cannot vote solely because they haven’t completely paid off all the fees and other costs associated with their sentence; interest on these legal system debts accrues at 12% percent a year. An overwhelming majority of felony defendants are indigent at the time of sentencing, and many can never fully pay off their legal system debts – and as a result cannot vote.

This system unfairly ties the right to vote – an essential right in a democratic society – to one’s financial means. It also disproportionately impacts people of color; the disenfranchisement rate among African Americans is five times that of the general population and roughly three times as high among Latinos.

ACLU Hails Signing of Voting Rights Restoration Reform

HB 1517 Will End Washington’s Version of the Poll Tax

 

Gov. Chris Gregoire this afternoon is signing into law a bill that reforms Washington’s convoluted system for restoring voting rights. The measure (HB 1517) will restore the right to vote automatically to citizens who have come out of the criminal justice system.

 

“This is a much-needed reform of an unfair and unworkable system for restoring voting rights,” said ACLU of Washington Legislative Director Shankar Narayan. “Automatic restoration will help people who have served their time to reconnect with their communities. People who vote are at less risk of reoffending, and that leads to safer communities for us all.”

 

Under the reform measure, individuals can register to vote once they’re no longer under state-supervised parole or probation.  Individuals will still have to repay their debts, but – like anyone else who owes money – they will not be denied the right and duty to vote. It will create a simpler and clearer system and provide a needed bright line to identify those who are eligible to vote.

 

The prime sponsor of HB 1517 is Rep. Jeannie Darneille. A companion bill in the Senate was sponsored by Sen. Jeanne Kohl-Welles.

 

Under existing state law, more than 167,000 Washington citizens who have prior convictions currently are prohibited from voting. Many of them have completed their prison time and community custody time, yet cannot vote solely because they haven’t completely paid off all the fees and other costs associated with their sentence; interest on these legal system debts accrues at 12% percent a year. An overwhelming majority of felony defendants are indigent at the time of sentencing, and many can never fully pay off their legal system debts – and as a result cannot vote.

 

This system unfairly ties the right to vote – an essential right in a democratic society – to one’s financial means. It also disproportionately impacts people of color; the disenfranchisement rate among African Americans is five times that of the general population and roughly three times as high among Latinos.

 

"Our current system is a modern version of the poll tax. Voting is fundamental to our democracy, and the right to vote should never depend on how much money a person has,"

ACLU-WA Executive Director Kathleen Taylor said.

 

In addition, the current system for restoring the right to vote is so complicated that even election officials are often unsure who is and is not eligible to vote. It can take nine separate steps, involving state and county officials and several forms and petitions, for a citizen to regain the franchise.

 

Automatic restoration is supported by a wide range of organizations, including the League of Women Voters of Washington, the Washington Association of Churches, the Washington State Bar Association, and Washington State NOW, as well as Secretary of State Sam Reed.

 

"Washington now becomes the 20^th state in the last decade to ease voting restrictions on people with criminal histories who are living, working and raising families in the community. There is clearly a nationwide movement to assure that our democracy reflects the voices of all American citizens,” said Erika L. Wood of the Brennan Center for Justice at New York University Law School.