Voting Rights

In 1995, the right to vote for ex- offenders was taken away by stealth in the now repealed "Motor/Voter Law". Through the efforts of many organizations including the ACLU, NAACP, PA Prison Society, and Ex-Offenders Inc., the legal disenfranchisement of thousands of Pennsylvania citizens were brought to a halt.

In 2005 an attack was launched against the suffrage rights of ex-offenders with HB1318. The Coalition against HB1318 was established and included Project Home, ACORN, Congreso, Susquehanna NAC, and X-Offenders for Community Empowerment. A massive lobbyist effort aborted HB1318. However, it is now very clear that ex-offenders must be constantly vigilant against legal attacks on our rights as citizens. X-Offenders for Community Empowerment accepts the challenge to take a stand against all threats designed to confine ex-offenders, our families and our children within a permanent underclass.

Just recently in Florida, Gov. Charlie Crist persuaded Florida's clemency board to let most felons easily regain their voting rights after prison, saying it was time to leave the "offensive minority" of states that uniformly deny ex-offenders such rights. Until now in Florida, most felons who finished prison and probation time had to submit to a lengthy review and waiting period, and sometimes an investigation and hearing, if they wanted to regain their right to vote.

Only two other states, Kentucky and Virginia, constitutionally require all convicted felons to forfeit their voting rights. So this means the fight to regain total voting rights for all felons is not over yet. Join XCE in this movement to regain total voting rights for all ex-offenders across the country.