Large Numbers of Prisoners Registering To Vote Legally In California

Large numbers of U.S. citizens convicted and serving time in county jails will be legally eligible to vote under California law in the November 2018 mid-term elections.

California’s constitution specifically denies voting rights to anyone in prison or on parole from prison. But Gov. Jerry Brown signed a criminal justice “realignment” law (AB 109) in 2011 that redirected state prisoners convicted of drug trafficking, burglary, auto theft, embezzlement, and non-serious, non-violent, or non-sexual crimes to serve their sentences in county jails.

The non-profit and non-partisan Campaign Legal Center (CLC) claims that “up to 17 million Americans with prior convictions could register to vote today.” CLC has brought its nationwide “Restore Your Vote” campaign to each of California’s 58 counties this year. CLC staff work directly with county sheriffs to educate inmates that many of their felony convictions would still allow them to vote in California.

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