Some Felons Now Can Vote in California

San Jose Felon Voting Rights Lawyer And Restoring Voting Rights Attorney

California’s Secretary of State, Alex Padilla, has announced that the state has dropped its appeal of a court ruling allowing felons in community supervision programs to vote. This means that voting rights have effectively been extended to tens of thousands of low-level felons who have been released to probation departments to serve their sentences under community supervision.

Bowen’s Policy

In the state of California, felons cannot vote while they are in prison or on parole. Prior to the appeal being dropped, they also could not vote while under community supervision.

In 2011, the California legislature passed laws requiring non-violent, low-level felons to complete their sentences in local or county jails or under community supervision, instead of in state prisons and parole. These laws were enacted to mitigate problems with crowding in California’s prisons.

In 2014, Padilla’s predecessor, Debra Bowen, determined that community supervision was equivalent to parole. So, since felons in California are not permitted to vote while on parole, Bowen’s policy made them also ineligible to vote while enrolled in community supervision programs. She maintained that simply because the name of the sentencing option has changed, does not mean that the felon voting ban should be lifted.

Lawsuit

After Bowen instructed county election supervisors as to her new policy, the American Civil Liberties Union of California sued the state on behalf of the 60,000 convicts who had their voting rights suspended. In May of 2014, an Alameda County Superior Court judge ruled for the prisoners, holding that community supervision was a new class of offender, and not just a name change.

Bowen’s office appealed the decision, but when Padilla took over, he decided not to pursue the appeal. Instead, the two sides settled. Pursuant to the terms of the settlement decree, Padilla’s office is required to direct county election officials as to the policy change, and ensure that county probation offices receive new voter-education materials.

Justifications

Today in California, the vast majority of nonviolent felony offenders are released into community supervision, rather than being put in jail or prison. In remarks posted on his official website, Padilla said that in order to reduce recidivism, we need to engage former prisoners in the community, rather than shun them. Voting is an essential part of ensuring that engagement.

A felony conviction has many effects on an offender, beyond the completion of a sentence. If you have questions about how a conviction will affect you and want an attorney who can present your best defense to the court, please contact San Jose criminal defense attorney Wesley Schroeder today for a free consultation. Attorney Schroeder will use his skill and experience to ensure your rights are protected throughout your case.