TESTIMONY OF

HILARY 0. SHELTON

DIRECTOR OF THE WASHINGTON BUREAU OF THE

NATIONAL ASSOCIATION FOR THE

ADVANCEMENT OF COLORED PEOPLE

BEFORE THE HOUSE JUDICIARY

SUBCOMMITTEE ON THE CONSTITUTION

HEARING ON H.R. 906,

THE CIVIC PARTICIPATION AND REHABILITATION ACT

OF 1999

October 21, 1999

Thank you, Chairman Canady and distinguished members of this panel for inviting me to testify before you today on this important subject. I would especially like to thank Congressman John Conyers for all of his work on this issue, as well as Ranking Member Watt for helping to bring attention to this issue.

My name is Hilary 0. Shelton and I currently serve as the Director of the Washington Bureau of the National Association for the Advancement of Colored People, or the NAACP. The NAACP is the nation's oldest and, with over 600,000 card-carrying members and 1,700 branches nationwide, largest grassroots civil rights organization. I am here today to share with you our association's strong support of H.R. 906, the "Civic Participation and Rehabilitation Act of 1999." This legislation would restore voting rights to ex-felony offenders. In fact, in February of this year the NAACP national Board of Directors voted unanimously to endorse H.R. 906 and make it one of the association's top legislative priorities for the 106th Congress.

H.R. 906 is crucial to the NAACP for a number of reasons. Voting is a fundamental American right, and the fact that almost 4 million Americans, or 1 in 50 American adults, are not allowed to vote is an insult to our Constitution and to the Bill of Rights. Many of these Americans have paid their debt to society and want to be reintegrated fully into their communities. Yet in too many states, the law bars them from participating in what may well be our most basic American responsibility of citizenship.

As you have heard from previous speakers, though this legislation would have a wide-ranging impact on every ethnic group, it affects ethnic minority Americans at a vastly disparate rate. In fact, 13% of all African American males today - 1.4 million American men - are prohibited from voting.

There are several reasons for this lopsided representation, and the question of disproportionate minority confinement could and probably should be the subject of another hearing in and of itself. However, one of the primary reasons that African Americans find themselves disproportionately barred from the ballot box is our national so-called "war on drugs." Our country's effort over the last decade to eliminate the scourge of drugs from our society has had a much more severe impact on African Americans and other ethnic minorities than on their Caucasian counterparts. Between 1985 and 1995, there was a 707% increase in the number of African Americans in state prison for a drug related offense, compared to a 306% increase for Caucasians over the same period. Furthermore, although African Americans make up only 12 percent of the U.S. population, 15 percent of our country's drug users, and 17 percent of cocaine users, African Americans represent 33 percent of all Federal drug convictions and 57percent of all Federal cocaine convictions.

But the war on drugs is not the only cause of the disproportionate minority disenfranchisement. According to the Justice Policy Institute, as we convict and incarcerate more and more people for nonviolent offenses, African Americans and Hispanic Americans comprised a growing number of the people we send to prison. In the 1930s, 75 percent of the people entering state and federal prison were Caucasian, which roughly reflected the demographics of our nation. As of March, 1999, ethnic minorities represent 70 percent of all new prison admissions, and more than half of all Americans behind bars.

Thus African Americans and other Americans of color are being kept out of the electoral process at an unequal rate, even after they have paid their debt to society.

Also troubling to our organization is the fact that state laws vary dramatically when it comes to defining a felony, and that states have very different processes through which an ex-felon must go to regain his or her civic rights. It is therefore often difficult for ex-offenders to know what, if anything; they can do to regain their right to vote. The extreme policies of some states have even led to real problems. Two cases in point are Alabama and Florida. In both of these states more than 30 percent of all African American men have lost their rights to vote forever, some for seemingly minor and certainly non-violent offenses. In Alabama, for example, it is possible to lose your right to vote forever if you write one bad check. Most states require specific gubernatorial action, and in 16 states federal ex-felons need a presidential pardon to regain their voting rights.

America expects felons to come out of our penal system prepared to act as productive members of society. We believe ex-felons should support their families and their communities. This is not an unreasonable expectation, but we need in turn to support them in their efforts. Because voting is such an integral part of being a productive member of American society, we should be encouraging ex-felons to vote, not prohibiting them.

In my travels across the nation, I have had the opportunity to talk to many ex-felons, some of whom committed crimes that never even warranted jail time, who are deeply troubled by the fact that they are not able to participate in our nation's democratic process. As Joe Loya, a disenfranchised ex-offender so eloquently said, "without a vote, a voice, I am a ghost inhabiting a citizen's space ... I want to walk calmly into a polling place with other citizens, to carry my placid ballot into the booth, check off my choices, then drop my conscience in the common box."

Throughout the world, the right to vote is seen as one of the paramount signs of personal liberty and freedom. Few Americans were not touched by the pictures of Black South Africans waiting in line, sometimes for several days, to vote for the first time in their lives. It is hypocritical of the United States to hold the right to vote up as a real test of true democracy, and yet to fail that very test here at home.

Felony voting restrictions are the last vestige of voting prohibitions in the United States. When the U.S. was founded only wealthy white men were allowed to vote. Women, ethnic minorities, those who were illiterate and the poor were excluded. With continued national enlightenment, these restrictions have all been eliminated over time, often with much debate and rancor. I am certain that the issue of allowing ex-felons to vote once they are released into society is not one that will be settled without a fair amount of heated debate. Yet I have faith that the morally correct path, blazed by the inspiration of a more democratic union, shall ultimately prevail, and that this imperfection in our society too shall be corrected.

I would like to take just a minute to focus on two elements of H.R. 906 that I think are important. First, the legislation is constitutional. As we have heard from a previous witness, this bill is carefully crafted so as to avoid any constitutional tangles. If any members of this subcommittee would like any further proof, we also have opinions of several other constitutional scholars who all agree that this legislation passes muster.

Secondly, I would like to emphasize that this bill very specifically provides that Americans who have been convicted of a felony may have their voting rights restored only upon release. The title of H.R. 906 is the "Civic Participation and Rehabilitation Act of 1999." The focus of this legislation is to help men and women who have served their time successfully reintegrate themselves into society. H.R. 906 establishes a national, uniform policy under which all Americans, after they have served their time in prison, may register to vote in federal elections and thus take one important step towards reestablishing himself or herself as a productive member of our society.

Because voting is such an integral part of being a productive member of American society, the NAACP has and will continue to support and work tirelessly for Congressman Conyers' legislation, the "Civic Participation and Rehabilitation Act of 1999." I hope that every member of this panel, and indeed of this Congress, will take a look at this bill. I have also included in my testimony two charts that I feel do a good job of illustrating the disparity between states as well as the severity of the problem facing African Americans. I hope that all the members of this panel will review these graphs and consider their impact on society.

Thank you again, Chairman Canady and Ranking Member Watt, for taking the time to address this issue today. I am willing to answer any questions you may have at this point, and I am available at any time in the future to discuss this problem at greater length.