Our democracy is rooted in the idea that everyone's voice matters. But right now, nearly 50,000 Californians on parole are unable to vote in local, state, or federal elections.
Voter suppression tactics consistently exclude Black and Brown people from our democracy. Felony disenfranchisement is a form of voter suppression that is rooted in racially discriminatory Jim Crow laws, which have suppressed the Black vote for the last century and a half. After the Civil War, California refused to ratify the 15th Amendment, which prohibits voting restrictions based on race, and instead included felony disenfranchisement in the state constitution.
We can move California forward and past this shameful chapter in our state's history by passing Assembly Constitutional Amendment 6. ACA 6 will ask California voters to restore the right to vote to people on parole in the 2020 ballot. ACA 6 is accompanied by AB 646, which enacts corresponding changes to California’s Elections Code. Our democracy is stronger when it is fair and inclusive. It's time to free the vote for formerly incarcerated people in California. It's time to pass ACA 6.
Tell your legislators to vote YES on ACA 6.
Bill Developments
June 24, 2020: Passed the Senate Floor
June 23, 2020: Approved by the Senate Appropriations Committee
June 18, 2020: Approved by the Senate Elections Committee
September 5, 2019: Passed the Assembly Floor
July 10, 2019: Approved by the Assembly Appropriations Committee
June 19, 2019: Approved by the Assembly Elections Committee
January 28, 2019: Bill is introduced
