The voting rights of all confined citizens serving prison sentences, pretrial detainees, and so-called “ex-felons” must be counted. Representation is demanded. All voices count!
-Jailhouse Lawyers’ Speak, 2018 National Prison Strike
In our eyes, the U.S has created a distinct class, i.e prison class. A class of people that are denied the basic fundamental right in a democracy, the right to vote. Many currently and formerly confined people pay taxes but are barred from voting. We the prison class, demand an end to taxation without representation.
The Right 2 Vote campaign is historic in its efforts to build a National Movement led from the inside, in collaboration with those formerly in the same shoes with the support of activists and allies to make every vote count. It is this campaign’s focus to develop political capital by organizing families, friends, and organizations that are allies to those currently/formerly inside without the right to vote. With political credibility we can have a degree of say in changing laws for a larger portion of those who are disenfranchised, cause reductions in the U.S prison population, improve prison conditions, force sentencing reforms, and force the closing of prisons and jails. By re-enfranchising all those who have fallen short according to society terms, we end the mockery of a country claiming to be the beacon for democracy, while taxing a class of people that are denied the right to vote.
Right2Vote Campaign Coordinator, Amani Sawari, is a recipient of the 2019 Roddenberry Foundation Civil Right’s Fellowship