Turn Up Tuesdays to Highlight Voter Accessibility Within the Criminal Legal System

Voting Rights News, Voting Rights Resources 08.24.20

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
Contact: Charmaine Riley, The Leadership Conference on Civil and Human Rights, [email protected], 202.548.7166
Kelly Brewington, All Voting is Local, [email protected], 202.548.7159

WASHINGTON – At any given time, there are roughly 750,000 people in jail or prison and most are legally allowed to cast ballots. Furthermore, state laws bar more than six million citizens convicted of felonies from casting a ballot. On Tuesday, August 25 at 5:30 p.m., The Leadership Conference on Civil and Human Rights and All Voting is Local, with its joint And Still I Vote campaign, will hold a Facebook Live event to address the restoration of voting rights to previously incarcerated individuals and highlight the need for jails and prisons to make registration and voting accessible for those eligible. This event is a part of Turn Up Tuesdays, a weekly, national call to action to ensure people are informed and activated to vote in the general election.

Turn Up Tuesdays is dedicated to ensuring that upcoming elections do not encounter the disarray that voters experienced in primaries in states like Wisconsin and Georgia. Advocates will urge election officials to guarantee voters have access to safe, fair, and accessible voting options for the 2020 elections.

Tuesday 
5:30 – 6 p.m. EDT

Turn Up Tuesday Facebook Live Event – The Leadership Conference and All Voting is Local will speak with special guests to discuss the importance of providing individuals in jail and prison access to registration and voting as well as restoring rights to the previously incarcerated. The criminal legal system hinges on the principle of rehabilitation and essential to that process is reentering society with full citizenship. Participation in our democracy is key to ensuring all people whose rights have been restored can remain engaged in their communities and are less likely to re-enter the criminal legal system.

Speakers:
Vanessa Gonzalez, executive vice president of field and member services, The Leadership Conference
Changa Higgins, policing campaign manager, The Leadership Conference Education Fund
Dominik Whitehead, national civic engagement director, NAACP
Neil Volz, deputy director, Florida Rights Restoration Campaign

The Leadership Conference on Civil and Human Rights is a coalition charged by its diverse membership of more than 220 national organizations to promote and protect the rights of all persons in the United States. The Leadership Conference works toward an America as good as its ideals. For more information on The Leadership Conference and its member organizations, visit www.civilrights.org.

All Voting is Local fights to eliminate needless and discriminatory barriers to voting before they happen, to build a democracy that works for us all. It is a collaborative campaign housed at The Leadership Conference Education Fund, in conjunction with the American Civil Liberties Union Foundation; the American Constitution Society; the Campaign Legal Center; and the Lawyers’ Committee for Civil Rights Under Law. For more information about All Voting is Local, visit https://allvotingislocal.org and follow us on Twitter @votingislocal.