A Voter Guide Mailed to Millions of New York City Residents falsely states that Paroled Felons Cannot Vote in the upcoming Midterm Elections, the New York City Campaign Finance Board acknowledged Wednesday.
Gov. Andrew Cuomo (D) Signed an Executive Order in April Restoring Voting Rights to anyone Convicted of a Felony who is Out on Parole. The Guide was mailed in Mid-October to Registered Voters.
The Governor’s Office said that the move Applies to around 35,000 New Yorkers Out on Parole.
On the Second Page of the 32-Page Document, the Guide Falsely instructs Residents they Cannot Vote if they are On Parole for a Felony.
The Board apologized for the Mistake in a Statement and promptly Corrected the Information on its Website.
This Table Summarizes Voting Rights for Convicted Felons in each of the 50 States as of June 11th, 2018.
- In Two States, Convicted Felons always Retained the Right to Vote: Maine and Vermont.
- In Three States, Convicted Felons never Regained the Right to Vote: Florida, Iowa, and Kentucky. The Government may opt to Restore an Individual's Voting Rights.
- In Four States, Voting Rights were Restored to a Convicted Felon immediately upon Completion of Prison and Parole time: California, Colorado, Connecticut, and New York.
- In Seven States, Felons with certain Convictions never Regained the Right to Vote. The Government could opt to Restore an Individual's Voting Rights.
- In 14 States and Washington, D.C., Voting Rights were Restored to a Convicted Felon immediately upon Completion of their Prison Sentence.
- In 20 States, Voting Rights were Restored to a Convicted Felon upon Completion of their Sentence. Sentence included: Prison Time, Parole, and Probation.
CLICK HERE for a full State Table.
The New York City Campaign Finance Board stated its Members are continuing to Work with the Center for Law and Social Justice at Medgar Evers College and other Organizations to “speak with parolees directly and inform them about their voting rights.” The effort includes a Trip to New York’s infamous Rikers Island Prison Complex, scheduled Friday, the Board said.
Figuring out whether you can Vote with a Felony Conviction is Complicated. The Stakes are High: If you’re Wrong about your Status, you can land back in Prison for Voting Illegally.
The Guide Error was the Second High-Profile Mistake made by New York Election Officials in the Lead-Up to the hotly contested 2018 Midterm Elections.
In Mid-October, around 400,000 New Yorkers received Notices saying that their Voter Status may have Lapsed when many were Active. The Office of New York Mayor Bill De Blasio blamed the New York City Board of Elections, which Stated that the Letters were Mailed by an “outside entity.” De Blasio’s office said the List of supposedly Inactive Voters came from a Political Consulting Group. The Group Charged the City to use the Voting Rolls to determine if Inactive Voters really were Inactive.
The City should get their Money Back.
NYC Wins When Everyone Can Vote! Michael H. Drucker
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