Ex-prisoners deserve the right to vote

This editorial was published by the News Tribune of Tacoma.

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At age 37, La’Keisha Hamilton is checking a big item off her bucket list this summer: Born and raised in Tacoma and later sent to prison, she’s voting for the first time in her life.

She was released from 24-hour confinement, earned a sociology degree at the Evergreen State College in Tacoma, found employment, pays taxes and gave birth to a son, Legacy, in early July. Yet she wasn’t eligible to vote until now.

“It’s pretty exciting for me because I feel like one of those folks who’ve been silenced for so long and finally get to express my concerns and passions and community interests,” Hamilton told us last week.

Next year more than 25,000 previously incarcerated Washingtonians will be free to join her. Our state and two others, New York and Connecticut, passed laws this year restoring voting rights to people with felony convictions upon release from prison. Twenty states have now chosen this enlightened path.

That means the 2021 primary and general elections mark the end of an era. Washingtonians who’ve done their time will no longer be denied an important launchpad to participate fully in community life.

It’s a bold stroke for democracy that harkens back to the triumphs of the Civil Rights movement.

Hamilton grew up in a family of non-voters and felt at the time that casting her own ballot wouldn’t make a difference. The Foss High School graduate then forfeited most of her 20s and early 30s to a prison term, convicted of drive-by assault after too long hanging with the wrong crowd.

She was released from prison in 2018 but couldn’t vote while on probation. Washington law prohibited felons from having their voting rights restored as long as they remained in community custody, struggled to pay off court fines or fell short of other conditions imposed by the court and the Department of Corrections.

Hamilton worked hard to meet those conditions. Former inmates who come after her will enjoy an automatic re-enfranchisement of their voting rights, thanks to a Democrat-sponsored bill adopted by the Legislature this year.

House Bill 1078 was backed by grassroots organizations that fight for less incarceration, more tools to prevent criminal reoffense and more programs to help people reenter society productively.

One of those groups is The If Project, based in Seattle. At its core is a basic question posed to current and formerly imprisoned individuals: If there was something someone could have said or done to change the path that led you here, what would it have been?

For many who’ve languished behind the razor wire, one answer may be: You deserve a voice. You can make a difference for your community. Your vote matters.

Hamilton was once on the receiving end of the “if” question; now she’s one of those asking it. She works as community relations manager for The If Project.

While waiting for voter eligibility, she felt robbed of the right to influence issues that directly impacted her transition to non-incarcerated life, such as adequate employment and affordable housing.

“A lot of laws and policies are being voted on that affect people like myself,” she said. “It’s kind of ridiculous that we don’t get to have a say on these matters.”

Sadly, that muzzled voice of disenfranchisement often belongs to people from racial, ethnic and lower-income groups held back by generations of disproportionate incarceration. In Washington, Blacks comprised 18 percent of the prison population last year, despite accounting for only 4 percent of the state population.

Much of the Republican opposition to HB 1076 revolved around a misguided defense of crime victims, particularly survivors of violent crime. One local legislator played to those emotions during House testimony.

“There’s a huge difference between the rapists and the murderers and someone who made a drug mistake when they were younger,” said Rep. Michelle Caldier, R-Port Orchard.

Not in the eyes of the law. Not after someone serves their sentence and the state deems them fit to return to society.

There’s no question that crime victims have suffered greatly and need advocates like Caldier in their corner. But it’s hard to fathom why the thought of a formerly incarcerated person sitting at a kitchen table marking a ballot, trying to lead an engaged civic life, would be so reprehensible.

While we wish the new law were in effect for this year’s elections, it makes sense that corrections officials were given time to implement it. Caution is warranted in a department where a computer snafu once led to the wrongful release of thousands of inmates over a 13-year period. Systems must be in place to ensure everyone released knows how to register to vote.

Meantime, state and local election officials are doing outreach. Pierce County Auditor Julie Anderson told us her office is going “upstream” to the juvenile court system, providing voting-rights information to young people in detention. Under another recently adopted Washington law, 16- and 17-year-olds can now pre-register to vote.

“It’s really important for kids to know that we think their vote is important,” Anderson said.

It’s a message that should be sent to adults, as well — a clarion call to Washingtonians of every race, class and background, including those who made grievous mistakes and did hard time for it.

Just ask La’Keisha Hamilton, who aims to pass along a tradition of civic responsibility to her newborn son.

A tradition that eluded her for more than 30 years. Passed along to a son she named Legacy.