Legislature(2007 - 2008)BELTZ 211
03/05/2007 01:30 PM Senate JUDICIARY
| Audio | Topic |
|---|---|
| Start | |
| SB7 | |
| SB89 | |
| Adjourn |
* first hearing in first committee of referral
+ teleconferenced
= bill was previously heard/scheduled
+ teleconferenced
= bill was previously heard/scheduled
| SB 7 | |||
| * | SB 89 | ||
| SB 36 | |||
SB 7-FELONS' RIGHT TO VOTE
CHAIR FRENCH announced the consideration of SB 7.
1:34:24 PM
THOMAS OBERMEYER, aide to Senator Davis, read the sponsor
statement into the record as follows:
It is essential to a democracy that every citizen who
wishes to be a productive member of society be
afforded the right to vote. Art. I, Sec. 12 of the
Alaska Constitution provides that criminal
administration is based on the "principle of
reformation" in addition to protecting the public,
community condemnation of the offender, and the rights
of victims. Political participation helps with
rehabilitation and reintegration into the community.
SB 7 grants felons the right and opportunity to vote
if they wish to exercise that right immediately after
having served their time. In Alaska 5,000 Alaskans
have lost their right to vote because of felony
convictions. Current Alaska law bars the vote to
persons convicted of felonies of moral turpitude until
the expiration of a post-incarceration period of
parole or probation, which is often years after they
have reentered society as productive citizens and tax
payers. While Vermont and Maine do not disenfranchise
felons at all, other states are reforming their laws
to allow felons to vote either after release (13
states), after release and completion of probation or
parole (21 states including Alaska), or permanent
disenfranchisement to certain felons (14 states).
Harsh sentencing laws over the past 30 years have
allowed the prison population to burgeon, while
reducing the rehabilitative model to an anachronism.
Over 4.7 million Americans or 1 in 43 adults cannot
vote due to felony convictions, with 1/3 or more of
them due to alcohol and drug offenses. Of those
incarcerated in Alaska 47 percent are white; 37
percent Alaska Native; 11 percent African American; 2
percent Hispanic; and 3 percent Asian/Pacific
Islanders. Minority felons are disproportionately
disenfranchised under current law and the harm of
continued disenfranchisement after release is
exacerbated by stigma and other forms of
discrimination as they try to reenter society.
SB 7 will help rehabilitate released felons by
welcoming them back into the voting community
immediately after release and encouraging them to
become good citizens. Studies show that felons who
vote have a lower rate of recidivism. SB 7 will
streamline the process by which the state restores
voting rights to felons and thus will save money.
1:39:17 PM
SENATOR WIELECHOWSKI recapped that if someone is released from
prison and is still on probation, that person is not eligible to
vote. Under SB 7 that person would be entitled to vote upon
release.
MR. OBERMEYER said correct and a primary reason for the bill is
that enfranchisement is rehabilitative. Get them back into the
community because they are with us anyway, he said.
SENATOR WIELECHOWSKI asked how house arrests would figure in.
MR. OBERMEYER replied the Department of Corrections and the
Division of Elections would need to establish rules to handle
such circumstances.
CHAIR FRENCH opened public testimony.
1:41:22 PM
MARGARET PUGH, Former Commissioner of the Department of
Corrections and retired state employee, stated strong support
for SB 7 and described the issue as emotional for some and
political for others. Amendment 14 of the US Constitution gives
each state the right to determine who votes and who does not
vote and clearly there is not just one American way to restore
voting rights, she stated.
Some states never restore the right; some restore the right upon
petition of the governor for a pardon; some restore the right
after incarceration regardless of probation or parole; and some
states, like Alaska, restore the right after probation and
parole have been served. She noted that in Alaska almost all
felons have some period of probation and/or parole following
release from incarceration.
MS. PUGH said American democracy is an evolving process. In the
early days the elite governed and as a result disabilities were
visited on women, slaves, illiterates, and non-property owners.
Those legal disqualifications continued for years and some
states, notably in the south, instituted other disabilities such
as the poll tax. Ms. Pugh relayed that her great-grandfather had
to pay poll taxes and her great-grandmother could not buy her
own sewing machine.
The purpose of these disabilities was clearly discriminatory and
fortunately most of those practices have been overcome. She
pointed out that today her great-grandmother could purchase a
sewing machine on her own and she could vote. Today there is no
more slavery, there are no more poll taxes, voters are not
required to be literate, and vision or hearing is not a
requirement. However, she said, a disability that many states
have not revisited, is the one that is visited upon convicted
felons.
MS. PUGH said she views SB 7 as a first step because all it does
is restore voting rights to persons convicted of felonies upon
release from custody; they could vote before probation and
parole is complete. Because the Alaska constitution says that
voting rights are surrendered by people convicted of felonies of
moral turpitude, and because most felonies in Alaska are, by
definition, considered to be crimes of moral turpitude, SB 7
would not restore voting rights to very many people, she stated.
SB 7 does not restore other forfeited civil rights. For example
a convicted felon on probation and/or parole must submit to
search of a person, home, or property of any sort without
protection of a warrant; must provide urine samples; must
continue treatment; can not work in certain fields; and can not
bear arms.
MS. PUGH pointed out that restoring voting rights does not
present a threat to any person, place or thing. This is a very
small thing for the legislature to do, she said, but it's a huge
leap for American democracy. In her view the current practice is
blatant racial discrimination and it is time for change.
1:50:58 PM
SENATOR McGUIRE agreed with the previous testimony and said she
has never understood why restoring a felon's right to vote would
be problematic.
She asked Ms. Pugh to comment on testimony last year from the
Department of Corrections suggesting that it would be difficult
to maintain a registry of the different conditions of release to
show the people who have their voting rights restored and those
who do not.
MS. PUGH replied it is an issue, but the Department of
Corrections (DOC) and the Permanent Fund Division already
exchange data bases for forfeited permanent fund dividends so
the technology is available for DOC and the Division of
Elections to exchange data. There will always be a few issues,
but there is no reason they can't be overcome, she said.
SENATOR McGUIRE asked if she believes that rehabilitation is
still a tenet of the penal system. If so, how large a part does
restoring voting rights play in the rehabilitation process.
MS. PUGH said the very definition of correction means to change
and correct and not punish. "I believe that corrections should
have treatment programs of all types and offenders should be
able to vote when they are released from custody," she stated.
1:57:34 PM
NATALIE LANDRETH, Staff Attorney, Native American Rights Fund
(NARF), stated strong support for SB 7. The most critical reason
is that the current law disproportionately impacts Alaska
Natives because they comprise a disproportionate part of the
felon population. In 2004 a study by the Alaska Judicial Council
concluded: that Alaska Natives were overrepresented in the felon
population; that Alaska Natives receive longer sentences than
non-Natives; that Alaska Natives typically have lower per capita
incomes than non-Natives and can not afford private attorneys;
and that people with private counsel generally served less time
in prison and on parole and were generally more successful in
getting reduced charges.
MS. LANDRETH said Alaska Judicial Council statistics highlight
the following: 83 percent of all felons are male, almost 50
percent are under 30 years of age, 50 percent are Caucasian, 37
percent are Alaska Native, 63 percent have alcohol problems, 45
percent have drug problems, more than 33 percent have
identifiable mental health problems, and almost 80 percent
financially qualified for a public defender.
MS. LANDRETH, responding to a question from the state affairs
hearing, relayed that "65 percent of felons were convicted of
class C felonies with property crimes comprising 30 percent and
drug crimes 20 percent. Murder and sexual assault by the way are
only 2 percent and 12 percent of these felons respectively."
In conclusion she said that the people most likely to benefit
from the bill are young men who need help reintegrating into
society. Re-enfranchising these people after they have served
their sentence is a positive and empowering way to achieve that.
2:02:16 PM
MICHAEL MACLEOD-BALL, Executive Director, American Civil
Liberties Union of Alaska (ACLU), noted that he had submitted
written testimony. He asked the committee to think of the issue
of restoring voting rights in the larger context of the right to
rehabilitation under the state constitution. The people who
would benefit from this law are the ones that the court system
has said are ready and worthy of reentering society. The scope
and context of rehabilitation should encompass the notion of
giving these people a vote of confidence to exercise a basic
right of citizenship - the right to vote.
He suggested committee members refer to the December 2006 issue
of the Alaska Law Review. It contains a relevant article by
Christopher R. Murray titled "Felon Disenfranchisement in Alaska
and the Voting Rights Act of 1965."
2:05:24 PM
DANIEL LEVITAS, American Civil Liberties Union (ACLU), said he
submitted written testimony. His work focuses on the issue of
felon enfranchisement and in the last 10 years 16 states have
taken positive steps in this direction. Of the 11,000 Alaskans
who are disenfranchised as a result of felony convictions,
roughly 54 percent would be reenfranchised if SB 7 were to pass.
MR. LEVITAS said the issue enjoys bipartisan support because it
is a fundamental issue of democratic participation, rights and
community safety. It's axiomatic that giving former offenders a
stake in society will make them feel less inclined to repeat
their behavior. In fact, one study shows a clear link between
voting behavior and lower re-arrest rates.
MR. LEVITAS echoed Ms. Pugh's point that SB 7 simply restores
the right to vote in a narrow and specific context. It does not
restore full civil rights to people on parole/probation or
parole. In conclusion he said SB 7 will reduce risks to
communities by promoting the reintegration of ex-offenders.
CHAIR FRENCH noted that Deputy Commissioner Peeples sent a
letter dated March 1 responding to a question raised at the
previous hearing. The data shows the numbers of probationers and
parolees whose last conviction was a felony crime of moral
turpitude. Unclassified felonies are the most serious and C
felonies the least.
Unclassified Felony: 101
A Felony: 200
B Felony: 728
C Felony: 1,640
He asked Mr. Levitas if he is aware of any state that conditions
the right to vote upon the severity of the crime.
MR. LEVITAS replied the majority of states use the simplest
scheme of not distinguishing between particular crimes, but it
is not unheard of to make a distinction and set aside
enfranchising people who commit violent crimes or crimes against
persons until release from probation or parole. The patchwork
approach can be quite confusing and perhaps it contributes to
the fact that most felons who are released from jail believe
they can never vote again, he said.
2:15:47 PM
CHAIR FRENCH found no further public testimony and announced he
would hold SB 7 in committee to look at possible modifications.
At ease
| Document Name | Date/Time | Subjects |
|---|