FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE:
March 27, 2007

CONTACT:
Meredith Curtis, ACLU of Maryland
410-889-8555

After many years of advocacy based on the fundamental principle of democracy, the Maryland ACLU today hails passage by both houses of the General Assembly legislation to restore the eligibility to vote of individuals who have paid their debt to society. Last week, the Senate voted 28-17 in favor of SB 488, and last night the House passed the legislation by a vote of 78-60. Now, the bill goes to the desk of Governor Martin O’Malley.

“ACLU calls on Governor O’Malley to stand up for civil rights and basic democratic principles by signing this important legislation into law,” said Cynthia Boersma, ACLU of Maryland’s Legislative Director. “Thousands of citizens who have paid their debt to society are still without a voice here in Maryland because current law disenfranchises them. Thanks to fair-minded legislators, we now have the opportunity for change that will help breathe life into the promise of the franchise.”

Special thanks go to Senate President Thomas V. “Mike” Miller and House Speaker Michael Busch, as well as the lead sponsors Sen. Gwendolyn Britt and Del. Justin Ross (both D-Prince George’s), for supporting the legislation. Floor leaders in both chambers, Sen. Roy P. Dyson (D-Calvert, Charles & St. Mary's) and Del. Jon S. Cardin (D-Baltimore County), kept the legislature focused on the real issue before it – the fundamental nature of the right to vote. The ACLU worked with numerous other groups on behalf of the legislation, including Justice Maryland, the Maryland League of Women Voters, ACORN, NAACP, the Brennan Center, the Sentencing Project, the Lawyer’s Committee for Civil Rights Under Law, and the Public Justice Center.

SB 488 would restore voting rights to those ex-offenders who have completed their sentences, including probation and parole supervision. This was a hard vote for some legislators, because the bill’s detractors attempted to turn the issue into a referendum about being “tough on crime.” Thankfully, the initiative’s supporters on both floors made it clear that this was an issue of democracy, separate from crime and punishment, and that by enacting such legislation, Maryland joins the mainstream—38 other states already have similar provisions in law.

The citizens made eligible under SB 488 have been determined by courts, the probation department and the parole board to be ready to re-join society, fit for employment, fit for their families, fit to be neighbors and colleagues, fit to be citizens. The ACLU knows that the return to civic life cannot be complete without the fundamental right to vote.

Go to the General Assembly’s website for more information and the full vote count:
http://mlis.state.md.us/2007rs/billfile/sb0488.htm

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