Voting Rights

Since 1965, the ACLU has worked to protect the gains in political participation won by racial and language minorities since passage of the historic Voting Rights Act (VRA) that same year. Since its inception, the ACLU Voting Rights Project has aggressively and successfully challenged efforts that dilute minority voting strength or obstruct the ability of minority communities to elect candidates of their choice. The ACLU Voting Rights Project has filed more than 300 lawsuits to enforce the provisions of the VRA and the U.S. Constitution.

Current Issues in Voting Rights

Wisconsin Democracy Restoration Act:
On July 28, 2009, Wisconsin state Representative Tamara Grisgsby and state Senator Lena Taylor introduced the Wisconsin Democracy Restoration Act (AB 353/SB 240), a bill that would restore voting rights to people with felony convictions upon release from incarceration. The ACLU of Wisconsin has been a leader in building the Restore the Vote – WI NOW coalition which working to change the state law to allow people with felony convictions to vote immediately upon release from prison instead of after they have finished with probation, parole and extended supervision.

Restoring voting rights to people upon release from prison is a core voting rights and civil liberties issue. These U.S. citizens live, work, pay taxes, go to school, and raise families in our communities while they are learning to reintegrate into society. An estimated 42,000 WI citizens would be enfranchised by the Wisconsin Democracy Restoration Act.

“When the Wisconsin Democracy Restoration Act sees a floor vote, we hope the Wisconsin legislature will put partisanship aside and cast a vote for democracy,” said ACLU of Wisconsin Associate Director Renee Crawford. “After then Texas Governor George W. Bush enfranchised ex-felons in 1997, bipartisan efforts to advance voting rights were successful in 20 states all across the country, 15 of which were led by Republican Governors. The Wisconsin Democracy Restoration Act is good for everyone involved in the political process.”

The bill had a hearing on August 27, 2009 and over 70 people testified and registered in support of the bill. Experts on the criminal justice system, anti-racism activists and formerly incarcerated people hoping to one day vote all gave impassioned testimonies to the legislators on the Assembly Committee on Corrections and the Courts. Their statements outlined how voting rights and laws are impacted by Wisconsin’s disproportionate minority incarceration rate and other institutionalized bias. Committee chair, Rep. Joseph Parisi had introduced a similar bill in the last session and was clearly in support of a law change.

On Tuesday, October 13, 2009, the ACLU of Wisconsin was again among the voices of voting rights advocates in support of SB 240 at the Senate committee on Labor, Elections and Urban Affairs (only the state Attorney General registered against the bill). Most committee members made positive statements about the bill and Senator Glen Grothman compared the denial of voting rights for ex-felons to the denial of gun rights to people who have long-since paid their dues to society.

2008 Election Protection Efforts in Wisconsin
In 2008, the ACLU of Wisconsin partnered with lawyers and voting rights advocates across the state to organize poll watchers and engage in election protection watchdog efforts. You can download, Election Protection Full Report 2008(PDF) a full report that describes the outcomes of the Election Protection coalition’s efforts including suggestions for the state and municipal clerks to ensure a greater access of citizens to the ballot box in future elections.

For more resources and information on the ACLU’s work on voting rights across the nation, please visit the ACLU’s voting rights webpage.