[Congressional Record Volume 151, Number 85 (Thursday, June 23, 2005)]
[Extensions of Remarks]
[Page E1319]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




                          A HEALTHY DEMOCRACY

                                 ______
                                 

                         HON. CHARLES B. RANGEL

                              of new york

                    in the house of representatives

                        Wednesday, June 22, 2005

  Mr. RANGEL. Mr. Speaker, I rise today to recognize the basic fact 
that, in our hearts, the American people truly love democracy. We love 
the ability of the people to influence the actions of decision-makers, 
of lawmakers and presidents to be removed from or elevated to office by 
the will of voters, and of the community to connect amongst diverse 
populations through the ballot box. We have passed legislation, 
protested on streets and waged wars to guarantee that every American 
has our most basic right, the right to vote, and our defining moments 
have been about the protection of this individual right.
  Despite the struggles and challenges of the past and our passion for 
voting rights, we still routinely deny the right to vote to millions of 
ex-offenders, who have paid back their debt to society. In many states, 
there is no judicial determination of this high penalty. There is no 
connection to the crime committed and the punishment imposed. The 
denial of the right to vote is automatic based simply on a conviction, 
regardless of the nature of the crime or the individual involved. 
Reversing that decision and retaining one's right to vote in many 
states is nearly impossible and requires action by the Governor. As a 
Nation, we have long fought for the right of every citizen to vote; it 
should not be so easy to take that right away.
  This denial erases the very core of our citizenship. It places the 
released ex-offenders on the outskirts of society and outside the 
decision making process. Their voice is silenced on the important 
issues of their community and this great Nation. Their unalienable 
right is taken away by legislative fiat in the interest of being 
``tough on crime.'' They are ostracized from their community and 
effectively denied the right to choose representatives and voice their 
opinion in public policy. They are relegated to the status of second-
class citizens in terms of politicians, community leaders, and 
unfortunately themselves.
  On the outskirts, many ex-offenders are frustrated and discouraged in 
their efforts to become contributing members of society. Denied the 
right to vote and to choose leaders and policymakers, ex-offenders 
often feel that they are not a part of this democratic system and this 
society. Their alienation, compounded by the stigma of their criminal 
record, limits their ability to be fully reintegrated into society.
  If we believe in our current penal process, then the penalties 
imposed by judges and juries should be the only sanctions for one's 
crime, not the invisible sanctions of the legislature. If we do not 
believe in that process, then we should work to effectively reform the 
system and allow it to serve its true criminal, rather than civil, 
purpose. Regardless of our belief in the criminal justice system, 
disenfranchisement of ex-offenders is abhorrent to our beliefs. They 
are citizens. They have paid for their violations of our laws and they 
must be effectively reintegrated into our communities.
  I submit for the Record an editorial from today's edition of the New 
York Times. Congress should heed the advice of the New York Times on 
this issue and once again protect the right to vote for all Americans. 
Too many have fought and died for this right to be lost.

                [From the New York Times, Jun. 22, 2005]

                  Extending Democracy to Ex-Offenders

       June 22.--The laws that strip ex-offenders of the right to 
     vote across the United States are the shame of the democratic 
     world. Of an estimated five million Americans who were barred 
     from voting in the last presidential election, a majority 
     would have been able to vote if they had been citizens of 
     countries like Britain, France, Germany, or Australia. Many 
     nations take the franchise so seriously that they arrange for 
     people to cast ballots while being held in prison. In the 
     United States, by contrast, inmates can vote only in two 
     states, Maine and Vermont.
       This distinctly American bias--which extends to jobs, 
     housing, and education--keeps even law-abiding ex-offenders 
     confined to the margins of society, where they have a 
     notoriously difficult time building successful lives. A few 
     states, at least, are beginning to grasp this point. Some are 
     reconsidering postprison sanctions, including laws that bar 
     ex-offenders from the polls.
       The Nebraska Legislature, for example, recently replaced a 
     lifetime voting van for convicted felons with a system in 
     which ex-offenders would have their rights automatically 
     returned after a two-year waiting period. Iowa, which also 
     bars former prisoners from voting for life, took a similar 
     step forward last week when Gov. Tom Vilsack announced his 
     intention to sign an executive order that would restore 
     voting rights to felons after they complete their sentence.
       Governor Vilsack's decision is particularly important, 
     given that Iowa has some of the most severe postprison 
     sanctions in the country. Governor Vilsack's decision is 
     particularly important, given that Iowa has some of the most 
     severe postprison sanctions in the country. The other four 
     states with similar laws are in the South, where 
     disenfranchisement was created about a century ago, partly to 
     keep black Americans from exercising their right to vote.
       The Iowa and Nebraska cases reflect a growing awareness in 
     some of the states that these laws offend the basic 
     principles of democracy. They also stigmatize millions of 
     Americans, many of whom have paid their debts to society and 
     want nothing more than to rejoin the mainstream. The more the 
     United States embraces this view, the healthier we will be as 
     a nation.

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