President Barack Obama, first lady Michelle, and daughters Malia and Sasha wave to the crowd after his inaugural address Jan. 20, 2009, on the west steps of the U.S. Capitol.

SHARE YOUR THOUGHTS: How do you think President-elect Obama will affect the way you see yourself as a child of an incarcerated parent?

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November 4, 2008–Casimiro Torres, 41, joined millions of Americans today to vote in the general election.  Like many during this historic election, he is voting for the first time.  But unlike most new voters, Mr. Torres is formerly incarcerated.

State by State Voting Rights

Because Mr. Torres completed his entire sentence, under New York State law, his right to vote was restored; parolees are not eligible to vote in New York.  Throughout the country, voting rights vary for those who are imprisoned, paroled, and on probation.  There are only two states that grant inmates the right the vote: Maine and Vermont.  In Kentucky, former prisoners are permanently stripped of their right to vote.

For Abu Bilal Abdur-Rahman, 54, this election isn’t the first time he’s taking part in the process in some way.  As a child of the Civil Rights Movement, the Buffalo, New York native recalls accompanying his mother in 1968 to get others to vote.  Mr. Abdur-Rahman voted for the first time in the February 2008 primary election since his release from prison in 2006.  He says this election will probably be the most important one in his lifetime.

Gary Riley, 51, a former New York prisoner, voted for the first time in the 2004 general election.  While he believes that voting for the first time four years ago helped him in his process of re-joining society, he feels that his presidential choice for the 2008 election has inspired him to continue to give back to society.

Mr. Torres has also used the 2008 election to give back to society.  On the eve of Election Day, he joined his cast mates of “The Castle” at John Jay College of Criminal Justice in New York City for “First Vote”, an event to honor people from every cross section of society who will vote for the first time.  “The Castle”, an Off-Broadway play, recounts the stories of the cast members’ incarceration and what voting means to them.  Of his four cast mates, Mr. Torres is the only one who will be voting in this general election, but that hasn’t stopped the rest of his cast mates from encouraging others to participate in the election.

SHARE YOUR THOUGHTS: Many of people interviewed here feel that not being able to vote because of one’s parolee status is a form of voter disenfranchisement. Do you agree and how has incarceration affected your voice or the voice of a family member as a citizen?

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RELATED ARTICLES:
Fear of Crime not playing a central role in 2008 presidential election
Presidential candidates’ positions on incarceration and criminal justice not clearly articulated during campaign

Djenny Passe-Rodriguez attends the CUNY Graduate School of Journalism. She is a television and radio broadcast student with a focus on health and medicine reporting. She graduates in December, 2008. Some of her work can be seen on her blog.

Barack Obama listens to a briefing by New York City police officers in their Real Time Crime Center at their headquarters in New York City.

We’re about 72 hours from election day and here’s an article by the New York Times on the presidential candidates’ stance on crime. This article follows the article we published earlier in the week that reported that the candidates’ stance has not been clearly articulated and discussed during the campaign.

In past elections, bringing up the “tough-on-crime” card spurred Republican support. During the 1988 campaign between Vice President George H. Bush and Massachusetts Governor Michael Dukakis, for example, notorious attack ads depicted Dukakis as weak on crime by showing prisoners going in and out of jail. The most controversial element of the ads was the story of Willie Horton, an  African-American prisoner  who committed a terrible crime while furloughed. The ad played to mainstream America’s racial prejudices and fear.

The Times article takes a look at John McCain’s and Barack Obama’s history on the crime and why, 20 years after the “Willie Horton” ads, it has not been discussed much:

But compared with many past presidential elections, Mr. Obama and Mr. McCain have paid little attention to issues of criminal justice as they compete for the White House.

The change is a reflection, experts say, of 15 years of declining crime rates, an electorate less anxious about public safety and the fact that crime and law enforcement issues are less partisan than they used to be.

SHARE YOUR THOUGHTS: Are you considering the candidates’ views on incarceration and criminal justice in your voting decision? Which way are you leaning and why?

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