NAACP LEGAL DEFENSE FUND SETTLES IMPORTANT VOTING RIGHTS CASE AND
ALLOWS VOTER EDUCATION EFFORT TO CONTINUE
(Tuesday, October 21, 2008 - New York, NY) Today, the NAACP Legal Defense Fund (LDF) settled the lawsuit it filed against the Alabama Department of Corrections in federal court earlier this month on behalf of Reverend Kenneth Glasgow. Immediately after the lawsuit was filed, the parties began settlement discussions under which Reverend Glasgow last week resumed his non-partisan ministry to eligible voters currently incarcerated in the state’s correctional facilities.
The lawsuit was filed after the Alabama Department of Corrections cancelled Reverend Glasgow’s ministry following the Alabama Republican Party’s objection to his voter education activities.
“Now I can continue the ministry that God gave me: helping to give a voice to the voiceless by reaching out to people in Alabama’s correctional facilities who are eligible to vote,” said Reverend Glasgow. “The ministry is so critical because too many in Alabama’s correctional facilities who are eligible to vote don’t know it.”
While incarcerated six years ago, Reverend Glasgow joined a prison ministry that addressed the importance of personal and civic responsibility and restoration as personal virtues and as cornerstones for one’s community. He was struck by the prison ministry’s focus on exercising the right to vote as a means to restore an him to his community and vowed to give back by starting his own ministry. Upon his release in 2002, Reverend Glasgow founded The Ordinary People Society, a not-for-profit organization in Dothan, Alabama. In 2004, the Alabama Board of Pardons and Parole restored Reverend Glasgow’s voting rights.
“Today’s settlement ensures the result that we sought and that Alabama’s constitution and laws require — eligible people in correctional facilities will be able to participate in Reverend Glasgow’s ministry and learn about their voting rights prior to close of registration for the upcoming November 4 general election,” said John Payton, LDF President and Director-Counsel.
Ryan P. Haygood, Co-Director of LDF’s Political Participation Group at LDF who represented Reverend Glasgow added: “This significant development strengthens the integrity of Alabama’s democratic processes by guaranteeing that eligible voters who seek to vote will have their voices heard.”
The NAACP Legal Defense Fund was joined in the lawsuit by Herman Johnson, of Wiggins, Childs, Quinn & Pantazis.
Tuesday, October 21, 2008
Monday, October 13, 2008
I'm not a Second Class Citizen, I'm a Second Chance Citizen
I'm not a Second Class Citizen, I'm a Second Chance Citizen
As I sit here and reflect on this last month's activities I don't know whether to be happy or just cry. Because I've went through so much and had so many things and people exposed.
I listened to God and committed myself to this work by His calling and I've wanted to quit so many times, and believe it or not now is definitely one of those times.
The blatant biasness, racism, and disrespect for humanity that I've witnessed in this issue of restoring People's lives by restoring their rights just overwhelmed me.
Maybe people just don't understand that when a person loses their right to vote they lose so much more of their life necessities. We can't get public housing, public assistance, student loans or pell grants to better educate ourselves, a business license, and housing and jobs are few and scarce for an ex-felon.
My real challenge is that this is supposed to be a religious, spiritual society that loves humanity and their neighbors, but for some reason those who have made a mistake are not considered citizens, neighbors, and less than human I guess. Yet these are our mothers, fathers, sisters, brothers, sons, and daughters. People who we grew up with, and people we went to school with and know.
We are talking about fellow human beings who have made a mistake and committed a crime that does not involve Moral Turpitude.
This was a term used in slavery times in order to consider a person vile or defain, not a full citizen. Now here in 2008 over a hundred years later the underlying racism and biasness of those of us who call ourselves Christians, Muslims, Methodist, Baptist, etc. seeps out when we find out that a person that has made a mistake has the same rights we have if they have not committed a crime of Moral Turpitude
Yet we read the Bible, Quran and other religious books claiming that we love everybody and want to help restore people's lives, but now that the opportunity has come our prejudices come to the forefront.
Classism steps up and we say they shouldn't have the same rights that we have they made a mistake.
My question is" what if God was like that? What if He felt the same way? would any of us be here?
Have you ever ran a stop sign or red light? have you ever got sick and went to the hospital? Why do you think that God put in Matthew 25: 33-46 " have you visited those who are sick and in prison ". He put those two together, why?
Because he knew that those in prison were sick as well and needed ministering to.
When we went to the prisons we only targeted those with possession of drug charges only. Those who would be out in about a year or two anyway. It's cost effective to give a person treatment instead of incarceration. It cost taxpayers approximately $13,000 to $29,000 a year to house a person in prison, while it only cost us $4,300 to $8,000 a year to give them treatment depending on what state you live in, and cheaper than that for college.
We have 5.3 million people in the U.S. that are disenfranchised and in the State of Ala. we have 250,046 who have lost their rights!
If we are productive citizens then shouldn't we be producing productive citizens. Every seed produces of it's own kind so what's wrong with us.
Crimes not involving Moral Turpitude are non-violent victimless crimes that does not cause any hurt, harm, danger, and suffering to anyone else. ( as close of a definition we can come up with ).
These are people who have done things that hurt themselves.
If we truly wanted to diminish crime, diminish recidivism, diminish overcrowded prisons, and diminish parent less children, then we would start engaging those incarcerated into civic participation and transforming their mind before they get out of prison.
The renewing of the mind need to come before release from jail or prison, not after they are released with a bus ticket and $10. Because when they meet these obstacles and disappointments they have no structure or substance to hold on to.
Our children are dropping out of school at enormous rates and we spend more on prisons than on education, more on prisons than our elderly and our poor.
In 1901 when they wrote the Alabama Constitution they must've had a different perception of these crimes not involving Moral Turpitude than the people of today. Or did they have more respect for human life than we do now? But our forefathers seen this differently and most of them were Republicans, conservatives and devout men of God.Maybe we need to stop looking at human beings and look at HUMANITY!!!
After the Civil War in Oct 1864 the Sons of the Confederate went to Washington to get their rights restored and pardons for crimes of treason, and heinous acts committed to human beings ( Crimes of Moral Turpitude ), so why now when we talk about crimes not involving Moral Turpitude do we want to take people's rights hmmm!
There's always been some type of trick to keep us divided whether it was Jews and Gentiles, Black and White, and now Felon or Non Felon. When will the prejudices end or will they ever?
When an average citizen breaks the Law, they go to jail, but when those who suppose to uphold the Law break it, the people suffer and become the victims.
My cousin told me that I must realize that for 105 years anyone could have said something about this and a few did like; Dr. Rep. Yvonne Kennedy, Sen. Bobby Singleton, Ryan Haygood, Bryan Stevenson, Gabriel Sayegh, myself, and a few others. But most of those who could've didn't, so please don't get mad at those of us who do. This is a continuation of our struggle in this Civil Rights Movement and The Ministry of God.
If you're like me you have no choice but to fight for Fairness, and Equality no matter who or what the naysayers think or say!
However it is quite amusing to me when those who are against you and the work God gave you come out publicly like they were with you all the time, but wasn't anywhere around for the fight, and as a matter of fact tried to stop you and wouldn't help.
But I'm glad you see the light now, and God has opened your eyes and you're here now!
We've Came From The Back Of The Bus, To The Front Of The Prison,
The Struggle Continues!!!
and that proves to me that I'm not a
Second Class Citizen
but a
Second Chance Citizen!
As I sit here and reflect on this last month's activities I don't know whether to be happy or just cry. Because I've went through so much and had so many things and people exposed.
I listened to God and committed myself to this work by His calling and I've wanted to quit so many times, and believe it or not now is definitely one of those times.
The blatant biasness, racism, and disrespect for humanity that I've witnessed in this issue of restoring People's lives by restoring their rights just overwhelmed me.
Maybe people just don't understand that when a person loses their right to vote they lose so much more of their life necessities. We can't get public housing, public assistance, student loans or pell grants to better educate ourselves, a business license, and housing and jobs are few and scarce for an ex-felon.
My real challenge is that this is supposed to be a religious, spiritual society that loves humanity and their neighbors, but for some reason those who have made a mistake are not considered citizens, neighbors, and less than human I guess. Yet these are our mothers, fathers, sisters, brothers, sons, and daughters. People who we grew up with, and people we went to school with and know.
We are talking about fellow human beings who have made a mistake and committed a crime that does not involve Moral Turpitude.
This was a term used in slavery times in order to consider a person vile or defain, not a full citizen. Now here in 2008 over a hundred years later the underlying racism and biasness of those of us who call ourselves Christians, Muslims, Methodist, Baptist, etc. seeps out when we find out that a person that has made a mistake has the same rights we have if they have not committed a crime of Moral Turpitude
Yet we read the Bible, Quran and other religious books claiming that we love everybody and want to help restore people's lives, but now that the opportunity has come our prejudices come to the forefront.
Classism steps up and we say they shouldn't have the same rights that we have they made a mistake.
My question is" what if God was like that? What if He felt the same way? would any of us be here?
Have you ever ran a stop sign or red light? have you ever got sick and went to the hospital? Why do you think that God put in Matthew 25: 33-46 " have you visited those who are sick and in prison ". He put those two together, why?
Because he knew that those in prison were sick as well and needed ministering to.
When we went to the prisons we only targeted those with possession of drug charges only. Those who would be out in about a year or two anyway. It's cost effective to give a person treatment instead of incarceration. It cost taxpayers approximately $13,000 to $29,000 a year to house a person in prison, while it only cost us $4,300 to $8,000 a year to give them treatment depending on what state you live in, and cheaper than that for college.
We have 5.3 million people in the U.S. that are disenfranchised and in the State of Ala. we have 250,046 who have lost their rights!
If we are productive citizens then shouldn't we be producing productive citizens. Every seed produces of it's own kind so what's wrong with us.
Crimes not involving Moral Turpitude are non-violent victimless crimes that does not cause any hurt, harm, danger, and suffering to anyone else. ( as close of a definition we can come up with ).
These are people who have done things that hurt themselves.
If we truly wanted to diminish crime, diminish recidivism, diminish overcrowded prisons, and diminish parent less children, then we would start engaging those incarcerated into civic participation and transforming their mind before they get out of prison.
The renewing of the mind need to come before release from jail or prison, not after they are released with a bus ticket and $10. Because when they meet these obstacles and disappointments they have no structure or substance to hold on to.
Our children are dropping out of school at enormous rates and we spend more on prisons than on education, more on prisons than our elderly and our poor.
In 1901 when they wrote the Alabama Constitution they must've had a different perception of these crimes not involving Moral Turpitude than the people of today. Or did they have more respect for human life than we do now? But our forefathers seen this differently and most of them were Republicans, conservatives and devout men of God.Maybe we need to stop looking at human beings and look at HUMANITY!!!
After the Civil War in Oct 1864 the Sons of the Confederate went to Washington to get their rights restored and pardons for crimes of treason, and heinous acts committed to human beings ( Crimes of Moral Turpitude ), so why now when we talk about crimes not involving Moral Turpitude do we want to take people's rights hmmm!
There's always been some type of trick to keep us divided whether it was Jews and Gentiles, Black and White, and now Felon or Non Felon. When will the prejudices end or will they ever?
When an average citizen breaks the Law, they go to jail, but when those who suppose to uphold the Law break it, the people suffer and become the victims.
My cousin told me that I must realize that for 105 years anyone could have said something about this and a few did like; Dr. Rep. Yvonne Kennedy, Sen. Bobby Singleton, Ryan Haygood, Bryan Stevenson, Gabriel Sayegh, myself, and a few others. But most of those who could've didn't, so please don't get mad at those of us who do. This is a continuation of our struggle in this Civil Rights Movement and The Ministry of God.
If you're like me you have no choice but to fight for Fairness, and Equality no matter who or what the naysayers think or say!
However it is quite amusing to me when those who are against you and the work God gave you come out publicly like they were with you all the time, but wasn't anywhere around for the fight, and as a matter of fact tried to stop you and wouldn't help.
But I'm glad you see the light now, and God has opened your eyes and you're here now!
We've Came From The Back Of The Bus, To The Front Of The Prison,
The Struggle Continues!!!
and that proves to me that I'm not a
Second Class Citizen
but a
Second Chance Citizen!
What T.O.P.S. Really Is
After talking to several people and taking our own little survey about our efforts of people's voting rights. Several of you informed me that some of those against it are not aware that this is our ministry, and we've been doing this since we started 7 years ago. Also that some have even went against those of us here who live in the Wiregrass who should've been supported. ( All Republicans don't agree ). Because our ministry is outreach oriented and we would dare be like others and use our clergical status for political gain here's a small synopsis of:
THE ORDINARY PEOPLE SOCIETY ( T.O.P.S. )
People must realize that every part of T.O.P.S. is ministry. There is a bad misconception that the ex-felon voting rights is for people who are criminals and not for the safety of victims, but it's exactly the opposite.
T.O.P.S. mission is to help those who have gotten on the wrong track in life by any and all circumstances that lead to an unproductive life.
Momma Tina's Mission House feeds the hungry and homeless who have no where to live or eat; on the surface, but there's a deeper meaning to this feeding: when you feed a person who's hungry or high on drugs, you diminish crime being committed by that hungry person. It says in the Bible do not fault a man if he steals cause he's hungry.
You see a person who's high when they eat, it curbs the high and causes them to come down off of the high, and usually they will result to sleeping or at least calming down enough to be ministered to and reasoned with. This starts the process of restoring a person's life. A mere introduction to a different way. Seeing someone who accepts them and that's willing to work with them even in their most despondant way.
Some of the most remarking things you could ever do to help a person get on the right path is to accept them just the way they are. For some it may be one of the first encounters of love and God that they've ever known.
Then there's the restoring of voting rights or should I say restoring of people's lives. Because alot of people don't know that when a person lose their voting rights there's a whole lot more that goes along with that. They cannot get public assistance, public housing, student loans ( to better educate themselves and do better ), business license, and not to mention a job, apartment, or house because of a felony conviction.
But when a person get their rights back there's a mental change that comes about. The Bible says that there must come a renewing of the mind and that's what happens when rights are restored ( Rom. 12: 1-3 ). A person who have never been a citizen or have been considered less than a citizen, now has a chance to be classified as, called a citizen, act like a citizen, and eventually becomes a productive citizen.
This too causes a person to relinquish acts of crime and consider themselves a part of society instead of an alien to society. So crime diminishes as well. In Galatians 6: 1 It says when a brother is taken away in a fault, we that are spiritual should restore such a one. Isaiah 61: 1 Feed the hungry, heal the broken hearted and set the captives free, and the opening of the prison to those that are bound. So we do this at T.O.P.S. by Rev. 12: 11 which says and they overcame by the blood of the Lamb and the word of their testimony. We go into the prisons to set the captives free and give our testimony IT'S OUR MINISTRY! and I'm so glad that all of you in this area ( theWIREGRASS) know that and understand it!
The Drug War became a war on people and we spend more on incarceration than on treatment. So therefore we spend more to produce criminals than citizens!
Then T.O.P.S. does intervention and prevention with youth, and help the elderly, closing the generation gap, and allowing society to come together and close the divide. Especially in poor and poverty stricken neighborhoods.
To sum all of this up, every act of T.O.P.S. is MINISTRY and HARM REDUCTION!!!
Everytime we interact with the children and have an event it curbs the influence of the life they see on the streets. It causes their senses to get intrigued of this difference they see in the neighborhood that has forgotten it's neighbor and just become the HOOD!
Because it has been said by a young Doctor that these young people suffer from the same thing a soldier suffers from when he's at war, and that is post traumatic stress. So it's so much for them to see unity across racial, generational, and geographical divides even in communities and neighborhoods in small cities.
So we have our M&M Program which is monitoring and mentoring!
Whenever others come to this poverty stricken area that they normally would have never come to if there wasn't a T.O.P.S. ( Momma Tina's ). That provides a safe place for them to come and minister to those who may be considered less fortunate materially,but yet it brings together those who have had a greater divide. It brings all of us together on a mission from God and gives us an opportunity to be vessels for God. And even though some of us may think that we're feeding people to be a blessing, we may be getting a blessing by doing what God has truly asked us to do, and being ministered to while we're there.
So it takes us to the realization that T.O.P.S. is definitely for the victim first and doing this ministry to cause HARM REDUCTION in all aspects.
So therefore when Evergreen Pres. Church comes to feed in this area and those who donate, contribute and participate in our endeavors at T.O.P.S. to do what God has told us to do REMEMBER THE VICTIM COMES FIRST!!!
If WE HELP RESTORE PEOPLE LIVES IT DIMINISHES,CRIME, BROKEN FAMILIES,
HIGH SCHOOL DROPOUT RATES, AND RESTORES OUR COMMUNITIES, CITIES, STATES, AND NATION.
In order for someone to come into our program they must first acknowledge and make ammends to their victims. Alot of people think that if a person hasn't committed a violent crime then there's no victim, but what about the mother, father, sister, brother, son, daughter, and significant other.? we all have victims who we've hurt in the past, have we made ammends?
Have we truly looked at ourselves and been all that we can be to everyone we can be?
Have we truly given to those in need by doing what Matthew 25: 33-46 says!
Have we fed the hungry, clothed the naked, took in strangers, visited the sick and in prison?
When we do this, then and only then will WE NO LONGER SEE OF NEIGHBOR AS OUR NEIGHBOR, BUT WE'LL SEE OUR NEIGHBOR AS OURSELVES, AND BE JUST ORDINARY PEOPLE, DOING EXTRAORDINARY THINGS, BY THE POWER AND SPIRIT OF GOD,
NO WILL OF OUR OWN, ALL GLORY BELONGS TO HIM
THE ORDINARY PEOPLE SOCIETY ( T.O.P.S. )
People must realize that every part of T.O.P.S. is ministry. There is a bad misconception that the ex-felon voting rights is for people who are criminals and not for the safety of victims, but it's exactly the opposite.
T.O.P.S. mission is to help those who have gotten on the wrong track in life by any and all circumstances that lead to an unproductive life.
Momma Tina's Mission House feeds the hungry and homeless who have no where to live or eat; on the surface, but there's a deeper meaning to this feeding: when you feed a person who's hungry or high on drugs, you diminish crime being committed by that hungry person. It says in the Bible do not fault a man if he steals cause he's hungry.
You see a person who's high when they eat, it curbs the high and causes them to come down off of the high, and usually they will result to sleeping or at least calming down enough to be ministered to and reasoned with. This starts the process of restoring a person's life. A mere introduction to a different way. Seeing someone who accepts them and that's willing to work with them even in their most despondant way.
Some of the most remarking things you could ever do to help a person get on the right path is to accept them just the way they are. For some it may be one of the first encounters of love and God that they've ever known.
Then there's the restoring of voting rights or should I say restoring of people's lives. Because alot of people don't know that when a person lose their voting rights there's a whole lot more that goes along with that. They cannot get public assistance, public housing, student loans ( to better educate themselves and do better ), business license, and not to mention a job, apartment, or house because of a felony conviction.
But when a person get their rights back there's a mental change that comes about. The Bible says that there must come a renewing of the mind and that's what happens when rights are restored ( Rom. 12: 1-3 ). A person who have never been a citizen or have been considered less than a citizen, now has a chance to be classified as, called a citizen, act like a citizen, and eventually becomes a productive citizen.
This too causes a person to relinquish acts of crime and consider themselves a part of society instead of an alien to society. So crime diminishes as well. In Galatians 6: 1 It says when a brother is taken away in a fault, we that are spiritual should restore such a one. Isaiah 61: 1 Feed the hungry, heal the broken hearted and set the captives free, and the opening of the prison to those that are bound. So we do this at T.O.P.S. by Rev. 12: 11 which says and they overcame by the blood of the Lamb and the word of their testimony. We go into the prisons to set the captives free and give our testimony IT'S OUR MINISTRY! and I'm so glad that all of you in this area ( theWIREGRASS) know that and understand it!
The Drug War became a war on people and we spend more on incarceration than on treatment. So therefore we spend more to produce criminals than citizens!
Then T.O.P.S. does intervention and prevention with youth, and help the elderly, closing the generation gap, and allowing society to come together and close the divide. Especially in poor and poverty stricken neighborhoods.
To sum all of this up, every act of T.O.P.S. is MINISTRY and HARM REDUCTION!!!
Everytime we interact with the children and have an event it curbs the influence of the life they see on the streets. It causes their senses to get intrigued of this difference they see in the neighborhood that has forgotten it's neighbor and just become the HOOD!
Because it has been said by a young Doctor that these young people suffer from the same thing a soldier suffers from when he's at war, and that is post traumatic stress. So it's so much for them to see unity across racial, generational, and geographical divides even in communities and neighborhoods in small cities.
So we have our M&M Program which is monitoring and mentoring!
Whenever others come to this poverty stricken area that they normally would have never come to if there wasn't a T.O.P.S. ( Momma Tina's ). That provides a safe place for them to come and minister to those who may be considered less fortunate materially,but yet it brings together those who have had a greater divide. It brings all of us together on a mission from God and gives us an opportunity to be vessels for God. And even though some of us may think that we're feeding people to be a blessing, we may be getting a blessing by doing what God has truly asked us to do, and being ministered to while we're there.
So it takes us to the realization that T.O.P.S. is definitely for the victim first and doing this ministry to cause HARM REDUCTION in all aspects.
So therefore when Evergreen Pres. Church comes to feed in this area and those who donate, contribute and participate in our endeavors at T.O.P.S. to do what God has told us to do REMEMBER THE VICTIM COMES FIRST!!!
If WE HELP RESTORE PEOPLE LIVES IT DIMINISHES,CRIME, BROKEN FAMILIES,
HIGH SCHOOL DROPOUT RATES, AND RESTORES OUR COMMUNITIES, CITIES, STATES, AND NATION.
In order for someone to come into our program they must first acknowledge and make ammends to their victims. Alot of people think that if a person hasn't committed a violent crime then there's no victim, but what about the mother, father, sister, brother, son, daughter, and significant other.? we all have victims who we've hurt in the past, have we made ammends?
Have we truly looked at ourselves and been all that we can be to everyone we can be?
Have we truly given to those in need by doing what Matthew 25: 33-46 says!
Have we fed the hungry, clothed the naked, took in strangers, visited the sick and in prison?
When we do this, then and only then will WE NO LONGER SEE OF NEIGHBOR AS OUR NEIGHBOR, BUT WE'LL SEE OUR NEIGHBOR AS OURSELVES, AND BE JUST ORDINARY PEOPLE, DOING EXTRAORDINARY THINGS, BY THE POWER AND SPIRIT OF GOD,
NO WILL OF OUR OWN, ALL GLORY BELONGS TO HIM
Monday, October 6, 2008
Who's The Victim Now!!!
Birmingham News Confusion reigns in Alabama over ex-felons' ability to vote
Monday, October 06, 2008
KIM CHANDLER
News staff writer
MONTGOMERY - When James Solomon went to register to vote earlier this year, he said he was told he couldn't vote because of a past conviction for cocaine possession.
That was in direct contrast to advice given by the Secretary of State's Office that drug possession is not a crime that strips someone of their voting rights.
"I just wanted to vote. When you got a felony, they treat you like you're nobody," said Solomon, an Enterprise welder and the widowed father of seven.
Less than a month shy of a historic election expected to bring record turnout, there still is uncertainty over who is eligible to vote in Alabama. State officials have given boards of registrars conflicting lists of felony convictions that bar a person from voting.
And registrars, already swamped with new voter applications, have the difficult task of sorting out who is and who isn't eligible to vote.
"We don't want to be in a multiple choice situation. You want to know the answer," Montgomery County Elections Director Trey Granger said.
A statewide computer system for the past 11 months has been noting convictions for more than 400 crimes that Gov. Bob Riley's administration deemed to be felonies of moral turpitude - even though officials with the Administrative Office of Courts said they were assured by Riley's office only a shorter list of 70 felonies developed by the attorney general's office were being checked.
"I know there is confusion. The computer system is flagging people who ought to be able to vote," said Kenneth Glasgow, a former drug offender turned pastor who works to help former felons to register to vote.
Secretary of State Beth Chapman said she's been trying to sort out the confusion through a series of conference calls and memos with county registrars over the past several months.
"They must first go to the AG's opinion. If that doesn't answer their question, they should seek guidance from their county attorney, their district attorney or my attorney," Chapman said, describing the advice her office has given local boards.
How big the problem is depends upon whom you ask.
"We don't know if it's a big, widespread problem. We're looking at a potential problem," said Adam Thompson, who oversees compliance with federal voting laws for Chapman. Thompson said his office found out last month that the lists hadn't been swapped, but Thompson said there are safeguards in place to make sure people eligible to vote can register.
Chapman for months has told county registrars to hand-check any convictions flagged by the computer system. Thompson said people who are denied voter registration are told they can appeal the decision.
Democratic Party Chairman Joe Turnham said he's concerned tens of thousands of would-be voters could have been affected.
"Absolutely, there has been confusion. I think a lot of damage has been done to a lot of people," Turnham said.
Turnham said he's also concerned people have been improperly purged from the voter rolls.
"We have less than three weeks now to find the people who have been disenfranchised and get them back on the rolls," Turnham said.
The dispute centers on the definition of a crime of "moral turpitude." The state constitution says people convicted of felony crimes of "moral turpitude" cannot vote until they get their rights restored, but it does not define the term.
Alabama Attorney General Troy King in a 2005 opinion named 28 felonies - which add up to about 70 crimes if each of the degrees of the offenses are counted - that have by statute or appellate decision been defined as crimes of moral turpitude.
Riley, serving as court-appointed chief of Alabama elections, in 2007 created a list of more than 400 disbarring felonies and gave it to Election Systems & Software, the company hired to create a voter registration database for the state. Riley's list includes crimes ranging from terrorism and homicide to starting a brush fire and drug possession.
AOC Legal Director Griffin Sikes Jr. said the governor had no legal authority to classify so many crimes as crimes of moral turpitude. Sikes said that, for months, the governor's office had assured the AOC that only the shorter list was being used, but Sikes found out last month those assurances were given "in error."
Riley Communications Director Jeff Emerson said the governor's office was forced to come up with its own list because the AOC initially refused to provide one.
Emerson said that, although the governor's office agreed to let the shorter list be used, it believes its own research is more comprehensive and accurate.
Emerson said that, until last month, crimes on both lists were being flagged by the computer system. Cost was a factor in not swapping the lists, he said.
"We were told to remove the larger list would be very, very expensive," Emerson said.
Emerson said new software is being added this month to make convictions clearer to the registrars. The change was planned and won't be a significant cost to the state, he said.
"If there is confusion out there, it will end it. It's designed to," said Emerson, who pointed out that local registrars had the ultimate authority in deciding who to deny registration, and those people were given the opportunity to appeal.
The disagreement over the felony lists isn't the only one of the state's voting procedures being challenged less than a month shy of the election. One lawsuit also has been filed on the behalf of three former inmates who weren't allowed to register to vote, and another has been filed on behalf of Glasgow's efforts to register inmates to vote absentee. The Brennan Center for Justice at NYU School of Law also said last week that it wants to seek records about voter roll purges in Alabama and another dozen states.
Walker County Board of Registrars Chairwoman Terra Tidwell said there has been confusion over which felons to exclude from voting, but things have improved because of communication from Chapman's office.
Flagged by computer:
Tidwell said she hand-checks convictions flagged by the computer.
Jefferson County Board of Registrars Chairwoman Nell Hunter said she has the county attorney check criminal records after a person is flagged by the computer system. Jefferson County attorney Theo Lawson said he uses neither the governor's list nor the attorney general's, but relies on his own research which, he said, is more thorough than either list.
"I look at these on a case-by-case basis," Lawson said.
But Lawson said it would be preferable if there were a single definitive list.
"Oh my goodness, it would make life much easier," Lawson said.
Chapman and a spokesman for King said the best way to correct the problem is for the Alabama Legislature to set the rules for when former felons can vote.
" I don't make the law. The registrars don't make the law. We just abide by the law. And sometimes the law is very unclear," Chapman said.
Monday, October 06, 2008
KIM CHANDLER
News staff writer
MONTGOMERY - When James Solomon went to register to vote earlier this year, he said he was told he couldn't vote because of a past conviction for cocaine possession.
That was in direct contrast to advice given by the Secretary of State's Office that drug possession is not a crime that strips someone of their voting rights.
"I just wanted to vote. When you got a felony, they treat you like you're nobody," said Solomon, an Enterprise welder and the widowed father of seven.
Less than a month shy of a historic election expected to bring record turnout, there still is uncertainty over who is eligible to vote in Alabama. State officials have given boards of registrars conflicting lists of felony convictions that bar a person from voting.
And registrars, already swamped with new voter applications, have the difficult task of sorting out who is and who isn't eligible to vote.
"We don't want to be in a multiple choice situation. You want to know the answer," Montgomery County Elections Director Trey Granger said.
A statewide computer system for the past 11 months has been noting convictions for more than 400 crimes that Gov. Bob Riley's administration deemed to be felonies of moral turpitude - even though officials with the Administrative Office of Courts said they were assured by Riley's office only a shorter list of 70 felonies developed by the attorney general's office were being checked.
"I know there is confusion. The computer system is flagging people who ought to be able to vote," said Kenneth Glasgow, a former drug offender turned pastor who works to help former felons to register to vote.
Secretary of State Beth Chapman said she's been trying to sort out the confusion through a series of conference calls and memos with county registrars over the past several months.
"They must first go to the AG's opinion. If that doesn't answer their question, they should seek guidance from their county attorney, their district attorney or my attorney," Chapman said, describing the advice her office has given local boards.
How big the problem is depends upon whom you ask.
"We don't know if it's a big, widespread problem. We're looking at a potential problem," said Adam Thompson, who oversees compliance with federal voting laws for Chapman. Thompson said his office found out last month that the lists hadn't been swapped, but Thompson said there are safeguards in place to make sure people eligible to vote can register.
Chapman for months has told county registrars to hand-check any convictions flagged by the computer system. Thompson said people who are denied voter registration are told they can appeal the decision.
Democratic Party Chairman Joe Turnham said he's concerned tens of thousands of would-be voters could have been affected.
"Absolutely, there has been confusion. I think a lot of damage has been done to a lot of people," Turnham said.
Turnham said he's also concerned people have been improperly purged from the voter rolls.
"We have less than three weeks now to find the people who have been disenfranchised and get them back on the rolls," Turnham said.
The dispute centers on the definition of a crime of "moral turpitude." The state constitution says people convicted of felony crimes of "moral turpitude" cannot vote until they get their rights restored, but it does not define the term.
Alabama Attorney General Troy King in a 2005 opinion named 28 felonies - which add up to about 70 crimes if each of the degrees of the offenses are counted - that have by statute or appellate decision been defined as crimes of moral turpitude.
Riley, serving as court-appointed chief of Alabama elections, in 2007 created a list of more than 400 disbarring felonies and gave it to Election Systems & Software, the company hired to create a voter registration database for the state. Riley's list includes crimes ranging from terrorism and homicide to starting a brush fire and drug possession.
AOC Legal Director Griffin Sikes Jr. said the governor had no legal authority to classify so many crimes as crimes of moral turpitude. Sikes said that, for months, the governor's office had assured the AOC that only the shorter list was being used, but Sikes found out last month those assurances were given "in error."
Riley Communications Director Jeff Emerson said the governor's office was forced to come up with its own list because the AOC initially refused to provide one.
Emerson said that, although the governor's office agreed to let the shorter list be used, it believes its own research is more comprehensive and accurate.
Emerson said that, until last month, crimes on both lists were being flagged by the computer system. Cost was a factor in not swapping the lists, he said.
"We were told to remove the larger list would be very, very expensive," Emerson said.
Emerson said new software is being added this month to make convictions clearer to the registrars. The change was planned and won't be a significant cost to the state, he said.
"If there is confusion out there, it will end it. It's designed to," said Emerson, who pointed out that local registrars had the ultimate authority in deciding who to deny registration, and those people were given the opportunity to appeal.
The disagreement over the felony lists isn't the only one of the state's voting procedures being challenged less than a month shy of the election. One lawsuit also has been filed on the behalf of three former inmates who weren't allowed to register to vote, and another has been filed on behalf of Glasgow's efforts to register inmates to vote absentee. The Brennan Center for Justice at NYU School of Law also said last week that it wants to seek records about voter roll purges in Alabama and another dozen states.
Walker County Board of Registrars Chairwoman Terra Tidwell said there has been confusion over which felons to exclude from voting, but things have improved because of communication from Chapman's office.
Flagged by computer:
Tidwell said she hand-checks convictions flagged by the computer.
Jefferson County Board of Registrars Chairwoman Nell Hunter said she has the county attorney check criminal records after a person is flagged by the computer system. Jefferson County attorney Theo Lawson said he uses neither the governor's list nor the attorney general's, but relies on his own research which, he said, is more thorough than either list.
"I look at these on a case-by-case basis," Lawson said.
But Lawson said it would be preferable if there were a single definitive list.
"Oh my goodness, it would make life much easier," Lawson said.
Chapman and a spokesman for King said the best way to correct the problem is for the Alabama Legislature to set the rules for when former felons can vote.
" I don't make the law. The registrars don't make the law. We just abide by the law. And sometimes the law is very unclear," Chapman said.
Friday, October 3, 2008
Alabama Denies Vote Based on List Compiled by Governor's Staff
FYI: from: National Organizational Coordinator
Ala. GOP governor's list bars vote to shopliftersBy JAY REEVES Associated Press Writer
Published: Friday, October 3, 2008 at 4:20 p.m. Last Modified: Friday, October 3, 2008 at 4:20 p.m.
A list of crimes compiled by the governor's office and used to disqualify Alabama voters includes hundreds of felonies - such as animal cruelty and shoplifting - not previously considered serious enough to cost convicted criminals their voting rights.
State court administrators say the list includes far too many offenses and has been wrongly used for months by county registrars to disqualify an undetermined number of state voters ahead of the Nov. 4 presidential election.
Republican Gov. Bob Riley's office said it did nothing wrong, but Democrats say the move may cost tens of thousands of qualified voters their right to cast a ballot next month - a number large enough to sway the outcome of some races.
The secretary of state's office said it is trying to determine the size of the problem and fix it before Election Day. Officials haven't been able to determine exactly how many voters may be affected because of how new the information is and the huge number of disqualifying crimes involved.
"It's a very fast-moving issue that we were just hit with," said state elections official Adam Thompson.
With Riley serving as a federal judge's court-appointed overseer of Alabama's election system, legal aides to Riley last year compiled a list of 444 felonies they considered to be convictions of moral turpitude, which state law says are the only crimes that disqualify citizens from voting. Riley's office released a list of the crimes to The Associated Press late Thursday.
The governor's list includes about 70 felonies that court administrators and state attorneys general previously have said involve moral turpitude, including violent crimes like murder, robbery, rape, drug trafficking and numerous sex-related offenses.
But the governor's legal aides also classified about 370 other crimes as involving moral turpitude, including attempted arson, breaking and entering a vehicle, attempted burglary, criminal mischief, possession of burglary tools and burning a U.S. flag or cross.
The list also includes absentee balloting fraud, cruelty to a dog or cat, domestic violence, forgery, killing livestock illegally, leaving the scene of an accident with an injury, disrupting a funeral, ethics violations and conspiring to set an illegal brush fire.
The Administrative Office of Courts said the governor's office has no legal authority to classify so many crimes as involving moral turpitude.
After months of denying that the long list was being used to prevent some people from registering to vote and to strike others from voting, the governor's office last week admitted its list had been used in error, said Griffin Sikes, AOC legal director.
The mistake surfaced as a federal judge ended Riley's role as special master in charge of developing a computerized system for voter registration.
Civil libertarians and some Democrats have accused Republicans in Alabama and other states of attempting to suppress voter registration, but Riley spokesman Jeff Emerson said it was "ridiculous" to suggest Riley's office was part of such an effort.
Alabama's elections system has been plagued by confusion and lawsuits over the hazy definition of which felonies are "crimes of moral turpitude." Emerson said the governor's office was forced to come up with its own list because court administrators failed to compile one.
While court administrators and the attorney general's office have identified a relatively small number of crimes as involving moral turpitude based on state law and court rulings, Emerson said the shorter list is incomplete.
"Our legal staff ... put in hundreds of hours into researching both case law and statutory law to come up with a comprehensive list of crimes of moral turpitude," he said.
Republican Secretary of State Beth Chapman's office was placed in charge of voter registration after a court ended Riley's oversight.
Thompson, who oversees compliance with federal voting law for the secretary of state, said staffers learned of potential problems with the governor's list only this week from the Administrative Office of Courts.
"It's our goal to see that every eligible voter can cast a ballot on Election Day," he said.
Ala. GOP governor's list bars vote to shopliftersBy JAY REEVES Associated Press Writer
Published: Friday, October 3, 2008 at 4:20 p.m. Last Modified: Friday, October 3, 2008 at 4:20 p.m.
A list of crimes compiled by the governor's office and used to disqualify Alabama voters includes hundreds of felonies - such as animal cruelty and shoplifting - not previously considered serious enough to cost convicted criminals their voting rights.
State court administrators say the list includes far too many offenses and has been wrongly used for months by county registrars to disqualify an undetermined number of state voters ahead of the Nov. 4 presidential election.
Republican Gov. Bob Riley's office said it did nothing wrong, but Democrats say the move may cost tens of thousands of qualified voters their right to cast a ballot next month - a number large enough to sway the outcome of some races.
The secretary of state's office said it is trying to determine the size of the problem and fix it before Election Day. Officials haven't been able to determine exactly how many voters may be affected because of how new the information is and the huge number of disqualifying crimes involved.
"It's a very fast-moving issue that we were just hit with," said state elections official Adam Thompson.
With Riley serving as a federal judge's court-appointed overseer of Alabama's election system, legal aides to Riley last year compiled a list of 444 felonies they considered to be convictions of moral turpitude, which state law says are the only crimes that disqualify citizens from voting. Riley's office released a list of the crimes to The Associated Press late Thursday.
The governor's list includes about 70 felonies that court administrators and state attorneys general previously have said involve moral turpitude, including violent crimes like murder, robbery, rape, drug trafficking and numerous sex-related offenses.
But the governor's legal aides also classified about 370 other crimes as involving moral turpitude, including attempted arson, breaking and entering a vehicle, attempted burglary, criminal mischief, possession of burglary tools and burning a U.S. flag or cross.
The list also includes absentee balloting fraud, cruelty to a dog or cat, domestic violence, forgery, killing livestock illegally, leaving the scene of an accident with an injury, disrupting a funeral, ethics violations and conspiring to set an illegal brush fire.
The Administrative Office of Courts said the governor's office has no legal authority to classify so many crimes as involving moral turpitude.
After months of denying that the long list was being used to prevent some people from registering to vote and to strike others from voting, the governor's office last week admitted its list had been used in error, said Griffin Sikes, AOC legal director.
The mistake surfaced as a federal judge ended Riley's role as special master in charge of developing a computerized system for voter registration.
Civil libertarians and some Democrats have accused Republicans in Alabama and other states of attempting to suppress voter registration, but Riley spokesman Jeff Emerson said it was "ridiculous" to suggest Riley's office was part of such an effort.
Alabama's elections system has been plagued by confusion and lawsuits over the hazy definition of which felonies are "crimes of moral turpitude." Emerson said the governor's office was forced to come up with its own list because court administrators failed to compile one.
While court administrators and the attorney general's office have identified a relatively small number of crimes as involving moral turpitude based on state law and court rulings, Emerson said the shorter list is incomplete.
"Our legal staff ... put in hundreds of hours into researching both case law and statutory law to come up with a comprehensive list of crimes of moral turpitude," he said.
Republican Secretary of State Beth Chapman's office was placed in charge of voter registration after a court ended Riley's oversight.
Thompson, who oversees compliance with federal voting law for the secretary of state, said staffers learned of potential problems with the governor's list only this week from the Administrative Office of Courts.
"It's our goal to see that every eligible voter can cast a ballot on Election Day," he said.
Wednesday, October 1, 2008
Fighting For The Ministry ( People's Rights )
Tuesday, September 30, 2008 - New York , NY ) The NAACP Legal Defense Fund (LDF) filed a lawsuit today in federal court on behalf of Reverend Kenneth Glasgow to allow him to resume registering eligible voters currently incarcerated in Alabama ’s correctional facilities.
With just 24 days remaining before voter registration closes to citizens seeking to participate in the November 4 elections, the lawsuit challenges the decision of Richard Allen, Commissioner of the Alabama Department of Corrections, to rescind Reverend Glasgow’s access to incarcerated individuals who are eligible to vote under Alabama law.
“With less than a month before the close of voter registration in Alabama , the Commissioner is effectively denying the franchise to eligible voters. This is an egregious attempt to hamper the democratic process in the State of Alabama ,” said John Payton, LDF President and Director-Counsel.
Commissioner Allen initially provided enthusiastic support for Reverend Glasgow’s ministry of hope, reconciliation and redemption to Alabama’s inmates through activities that include voting, and established specific procedures by which non-partisan voter registration activities could be conducted safely and effectively. He not only directed the wardens of all Alabama correctional institutions to facilitate Reverend Glasgow’s entry, but provided a list to Reverend Glasgow of more than 6,000 inmates convicted only of simple drug possession crimes, offenses for which one does not lose his or her voting rights under Alabama ’s constitution and laws. Most on the list are unaware of their eligibility to register to vote.
However, as soon as news spread about the success of Reverend Glasgow’s ministry and his assistance helping eligible inmates register to vote, Commissioner Allen reversed course. While many applauded Reverend Glasgow’s attempt to minister to inmates and assist their rehabilitation through political participation, the Chair of the Alabama Republican Party wrote a letter to the Commissioner stating that it “was in full support of increasing the amount of registered voters in the state,” but not those “who have committed crimes and are currently incarcerated in the penal system,” even though some are eligible to register.
The Commissioner then swiftly prohibited Reverend Glasgow from continuing to conduct his non-partisan voter registration activities for incarcerated, but eligible, Alabamians. This course of action is a textbook case of viewpoint discrimination – excluding a speaker from a forum because of disagreement with his opinion or ideology – that violates the First Amendment.
“Unlike the Commissioner,” Rev. Glasgow responded, “my actions are not influenced by a political party’s agenda. My prison ministry is focused not on politics, but on restoring people’s lives. Since I have personally benefited from this type of ministry, it is my calling to help inmates with their re-entry back into society and their families.”
While incarcerated more than six years ago, Reverend Glasgow became involved in a prison ministry that addressed the importance of spirituality, personal responsibility, civic responsibility, forgiveness and restoration — both as personal virtues and as cornerstones for one’s community. Reverend Glasgow was particularly struck by the prison ministry’s focus on exercising the right to vote as a means to restore an offender to his community and vowed to give back by starting his own ministry. Upon his release in 2002, Rev. Glasgow remained true to his word and founded The Ordinary People Society, a faith-based ministry headquartered in Dothan , Alabama . In 2004, the Alabama Board of Pardons and Parole restored Rev. Glasgow’s voting rights.
“Reverend Glasgow’s ministry has carefully observed Alabama’s voting laws and every procedure established by the Commissioner to offer non-partisan assistance to eligible voters in Alabama’s penal system, most of whom do not know they have retained their voting rights,” said Ryan P. Haygood, Co-Director of LDF’s Political Participation Group. “The Commissioner’s decision to cancel this important effort is arbitrary and unconstitutional. The time to remedy these constitutional violations is now.”
###
ABOUT LDF
The NAACP Legal Defense and Educational Fund (LDF) is America 's legal counsel on issues of race. Through advocacy and litigation, LDF focuses on issues of education, voter protection, economic justice and criminal justice. We encourage students to embark on careers in the public interest through scholarships and internship programs. LDF pursues racial justice to move our nation toward a society that fulfills the promise of equality for all.
With just 24 days remaining before voter registration closes to citizens seeking to participate in the November 4 elections, the lawsuit challenges the decision of Richard Allen, Commissioner of the Alabama Department of Corrections, to rescind Reverend Glasgow’s access to incarcerated individuals who are eligible to vote under Alabama law.
“With less than a month before the close of voter registration in Alabama , the Commissioner is effectively denying the franchise to eligible voters. This is an egregious attempt to hamper the democratic process in the State of Alabama ,” said John Payton, LDF President and Director-Counsel.
Commissioner Allen initially provided enthusiastic support for Reverend Glasgow’s ministry of hope, reconciliation and redemption to Alabama’s inmates through activities that include voting, and established specific procedures by which non-partisan voter registration activities could be conducted safely and effectively. He not only directed the wardens of all Alabama correctional institutions to facilitate Reverend Glasgow’s entry, but provided a list to Reverend Glasgow of more than 6,000 inmates convicted only of simple drug possession crimes, offenses for which one does not lose his or her voting rights under Alabama ’s constitution and laws. Most on the list are unaware of their eligibility to register to vote.
However, as soon as news spread about the success of Reverend Glasgow’s ministry and his assistance helping eligible inmates register to vote, Commissioner Allen reversed course. While many applauded Reverend Glasgow’s attempt to minister to inmates and assist their rehabilitation through political participation, the Chair of the Alabama Republican Party wrote a letter to the Commissioner stating that it “was in full support of increasing the amount of registered voters in the state,” but not those “who have committed crimes and are currently incarcerated in the penal system,” even though some are eligible to register.
The Commissioner then swiftly prohibited Reverend Glasgow from continuing to conduct his non-partisan voter registration activities for incarcerated, but eligible, Alabamians. This course of action is a textbook case of viewpoint discrimination – excluding a speaker from a forum because of disagreement with his opinion or ideology – that violates the First Amendment.
“Unlike the Commissioner,” Rev. Glasgow responded, “my actions are not influenced by a political party’s agenda. My prison ministry is focused not on politics, but on restoring people’s lives. Since I have personally benefited from this type of ministry, it is my calling to help inmates with their re-entry back into society and their families.”
While incarcerated more than six years ago, Reverend Glasgow became involved in a prison ministry that addressed the importance of spirituality, personal responsibility, civic responsibility, forgiveness and restoration — both as personal virtues and as cornerstones for one’s community. Reverend Glasgow was particularly struck by the prison ministry’s focus on exercising the right to vote as a means to restore an offender to his community and vowed to give back by starting his own ministry. Upon his release in 2002, Rev. Glasgow remained true to his word and founded The Ordinary People Society, a faith-based ministry headquartered in Dothan , Alabama . In 2004, the Alabama Board of Pardons and Parole restored Rev. Glasgow’s voting rights.
“Reverend Glasgow’s ministry has carefully observed Alabama’s voting laws and every procedure established by the Commissioner to offer non-partisan assistance to eligible voters in Alabama’s penal system, most of whom do not know they have retained their voting rights,” said Ryan P. Haygood, Co-Director of LDF’s Political Participation Group. “The Commissioner’s decision to cancel this important effort is arbitrary and unconstitutional. The time to remedy these constitutional violations is now.”
###
ABOUT LDF
The NAACP Legal Defense and Educational Fund (LDF) is America 's legal counsel on issues of race. Through advocacy and litigation, LDF focuses on issues of education, voter protection, economic justice and criminal justice. We encourage students to embark on careers in the public interest through scholarships and internship programs. LDF pursues racial justice to move our nation toward a society that fulfills the promise of equality for all.
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