When people in prison cannot vote, influence policy, or hold elected officials accountable, things like inhumane prison conditions, problematic judges, and “tough-on-crime” policies persist more easily.
Felony disenfranchisement is a relic of the Jim Crow era. Today in Illinois, 55% of people in prison are Black despite Black people making up only 15% of the state’s overall population. Disenfranchising people in prison silences community members, without making anyone safer.
House Bill 989 (formerly Senate Bill 828), Voting in Prison, restores voting rights to people incarcerated in Illinois prisons, post-conviction. If passed, House Bill 989 (HB 989) would make Illinois the first state to restore voting rights to people in prison, joining Maine, Vermont, Washington D.C., and Puerto Rico as places in the U.S. that allow incarcerated citizens to vote.
Tell Illinois' elected leaders that it's time Illinois restore voting rights to community members in prison. #HB989, it's about time!
Why is this important?
The lives of people in prison are influenced by elected officials' policies, and those elected are held accountable by their constituents. Until people in prison are given the right to vote, making up the constituency, they are unable to hold elected officials accountable.
Chicago Votes’ #UnlockCivics legislative platform works at the intersection of organizing and advocacy to ensure that people affected by the American legal system have access to their civic rights and responsibilities.
Take the pledge to support a more inclusive democracy by signing our #UnlockCivics petition!
Contact Chicago Votes:
Frederique Desrosiers
Policy Manager
[email protected]
Follow the work @ChicagoVotes #UnlockCivics
