April, 22 2016, 02:30pm EDT
NAACP Statement on Restoring Voting Rights for Ex-Offenders in Virginia
NAACP President and CEO Cornell William Brooks today issued the following statement regarding Virginia Governor Terry McAuliffe's executive order restoring voting rights to ex-felons:
"Most former offenders want to be respected as present citizens. The price of citizenship is voting. Governor Terry McAuliffe's executive order enables ex-offenders to pay the price of citizenship - and in so doing, both contribute to our democracy and redeem their dignity. The majority of people with criminal records would much rather be known for their record of voting.
BALTIMORE, MD
NAACP President and CEO Cornell William Brooks today issued the following statement regarding Virginia Governor Terry McAuliffe's executive order restoring voting rights to ex-felons:
"Most former offenders want to be respected as present citizens. The price of citizenship is voting. Governor Terry McAuliffe's executive order enables ex-offenders to pay the price of citizenship - and in so doing, both contribute to our democracy and redeem their dignity. The majority of people with criminal records would much rather be known for their record of voting.
"I applaud Governor McAuliffe's courage in using his executive authority to give hundreds of thousands of Virginians an equal voice in the democratic process. Throughout the country, an estimated 5.8 million American citizens are prevented from participating in the voting process. We firmly believe in second chances and that citizens who have completed their sentences be allowed to exercise the constitutional right to vote.
"History shows when people are denied the right to vote, the loss of representation weakens our neighborhoods and communities, and furthers systemic inequality. As some states continue to erect barriers to voter registration, we hope more states follow Governor McAuliffe's lead. Restoring voting rights to incarcerated individuals who have served their time is imperative to a fair and just democracy, while punitive measures only serve to further disenfranchise and isolate ex-offenders."
Founded Feb. 12. 1909, the NAACP is the nation's oldest, largest and most widely recognized grassroots-based civil rights organization. Its more than half-million members and supporters throughout the United States and the world are the premier advocates for civil rights in their communities, conducting voter mobilization and monitoring equal opportunity in the public and private sectors.
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