Question 2 A felon's right to vote

Should felons regain their right to vote upon release from prison?

Ballot Question 2 would amend the state Constitution by restoring the right to vote to former prisoners, a category estimated to include more than 15,000 Rhode Island citizens.

Currently, felons on parole or probation cannot vote.

The Providence-based Rhode Island Right to Vote coalition ( www.restorethevote.org) organized in 2004, after the Rhode Island Family Life Center published a study on the consequences of felon disenfranchisement for Rhode Island communities.

The Rhode Island Family Life Center helps newly released felons reenter society; the center now coordinates the Rhode Island Right to Vote Campaign.

According to the study, 1 in 5 black men is barred from voting statewide; 1 in 11 Hispanic men is barred from voting statewide; the rate of disenfranchisement in urban areas is 3.5 times the rate for the rest of the state; and more than 10 percent of South Providence residents are disenfranchised.

The coalition successfully lobbied for passage of a bill to give Rhode Island voters the chance to amend the Constitution regarding felon enfranchisement, resulting in Question 2.

Advocates say that voting helps former prisoners return to, and engage in, life in the community.

On a national level, U.S. Rep. Jesse L. Jackson Jr., D-Ill., has proposed a constitutional amendment to specify that everyone in the country 18 or older has the right to vote.

Rhode Island opponents in the General Assembly include Senators Leonidas Raptakis, D-Coventry, and Joseph M. Polisena, D-Johnston. They were among four senators who voted against the legislation that secured the upcoming referendum.

Raptakis has said he believes voting rights should never be restored to someone who has taken someone’s life.

Several letters to the editor in The Journal have also expressed opposition. A recent letter suggested that the current Rhode Island law allowing felons the right to vote after their probation ends, provides an equitable solution.

Endorsers of Question 2 include nearly 45 nonprofit community groups, as well as labor unions and political organizations, faith groups, legislators, businesses, educators and other individuals.

A few of the nonprofit organizations include: the Urban League of Rhode Island, the Rhode Island Affiliate of the American Civil Liberties Union, the Providence chapter of the NAACP, the Rhode Island Bar Association, the Rhode Island State Council of Churches, the Center for Hispanic Policy & Advocacy, Ocean State Action, Progreso Latino, the American Friends Service Committee, the Rhode Island Indian Council, and Direct Action for Rights and Equality.

Other supporters include Providence Mayor David N. Cicilline, Providence Police Chief Dean Esserman, former U.S. Attorney Margaret Curran and Secretary of State Matthew A. Brown.

A recent opinion piece in The Providence Journal by Esserman and H. Philip West Jr., outgoing executive director of Common Cause of Rhode Island, noted that Rhode Island currently bars blacks and Latinos from voting at rates “higher than 37 other states.”