I am so excited I can barely put a sentence together!!
I am a convicted felon, you see - and it's been twenty five long years.
This isn't going to be about what I did, or what prison was like. I have intended for some time to Diary about that the day my sentence is fully discharged. That isn't what this Diary is about - and I'm simply not going to discuss it here.
If there is any interest in that subject, I will discuss it in another diary or two.
When I was arrested, the law was that voting rights were stripped permanently. Six years after your sentence was fully discharged, you could then apply for a conditional pardon (not exactly routinely granted in this most liberal of states - Texas.) which, if granted, would restore your voting rights.
I have actually made some effort to find the current state of the law, but my internet research skills are pretty poor. Another problem is that my sentence will be fully discharged on the 21st of this month, and Texas is not a same day registration state. Last time I voted, you had to register 6 weeks before the election. I really want to vote - but after living under the Sword of Damocles for the last 19 years (since my discharge from prison - parolees and probationers in this state get violated for showing up late for a meeting!) - the last thing I want to do is commit another felony. If my parole is violated, you see, even on my last day of parole I still have 19 years to go Go directly to jail, do not pass go. It's a felony to cast an illegal vote.
I was talking to my parole officer about whether I had to file my last report since it is due on the 18th and my parole is finished three days later. I do.
She asked if I was gonna vote. I told her that as far as I knew, that was illegal. She then dug up something that said the law has changed and that it was legal to vote as soon as I discharged my sentence!
WOW! But I'm not registered. And it's only four weeks until the election. So I called the registrar. I have until the 6th to register!
Folks, until you lose this right, you have no idea how important it is. All I have been able to do for 25 years is talk about voting - and drive others to the polls. Now I'm gonna drive MYSELF - . Obama (and the rest of the Democratic ticket) just picked up one vote!
Update! WOW! The rec list! I don't fast type enough to personally answer and thank every one of you for your kind comments - for every one I have answered so far, there are five I haven't been able to get to - that really deserve an answer. Just thank you - not so much for the rec list, but for your kind sentiments.
Update II It occurs to me that one thing that I left out in my enthusiasm was some description of what I felt every election season when I couldn't vote. It was a pall that hung over everything. I always did what I could to influence and inform others, found voting guides for my wife, helped her with issues she didn't understand (amendments, bond issues, and "non-partisan" races are pretty confusing.) since I know a few more of the code words than she did when we first married and drove her to the polls - where I sat in the car. It made me angry (though I really tried not to show it - and even though I am really proud that she cares enough to make the most informed decision possible on every single issue) when she wanted to spend a lot of time on an issue - just because.
Whether you agree with me or not, anyone familiar with me here knows I have strong opinions. I could still express them - and there is plenty anybody can do in every election season - but that vote! That is the ultimate goal - the end to all your efforts. When I had it, I used it. It was so important to me that I turned down the certainty of a lighter sentence and the possibility of probation (in a plea bargain) instead of incarceration because I could not accept the loss of my franchise. That wasn't the only reason - but it was a bigger factor than most would believe.
So until this afternoon, election time has been a pretty lousy time for me. I am gratefully accepting all these recs in the name of all those who still can't vote, and for all those wrongfully incarcerated and unfairly sentenced.
It's time that "no taxation without representation" be remembered - and that "One American, one vote" becomes a rallying cry - and that the vote suppressors and stealers get felony convictions and long sentences of their own.
Update IV It was irresponsible of me not to include this Link to the ACLU ex offenders voting rights site. Hat tip to distraught for the link. This has a handy map showing who can vote and where.