Community & Civic Participation Campaign: Promoting, Educating, and Mobilizing an Enlightened and Responsible Citizenry
TCJC Expands Focus of Civic Participation Efforts to Full Reintegration Efforts to Better Increase Personal Responsibility
BY ANA YÁÑEZ-CORREA
People leave prison hoping to prove they can take responsibility for themselves and their families, but major obstacles to successful re-integration into society include housing limitations, lack of employment opportunities, and inadequate education. At TCJC, we believe those barriers must be reduced and that, instead, formerly incarcerated people should have access to the tools necessary to enable them to become responsible, productive, law-abiding citizens, which includes being part of the civic process.
In Texas, formerly incarcerated individuals have the right to vote once they have completed their sentence and are off parole or probation (“off paper”). Due to a lack of information, as well as the dissemination of misinformation by those who are not familiar with current law, many ex-offenders in Texas don’t know they’re eligible to vote and never register, even once “off paper.”
Civic participation initiatives must be bipartisan.
Voting rights debates often fall prey to the partisan goals of party election consultants – and real people end up out in the cold. TCJC works equally well with leaders of both parties to advocate for simple fixes that will enable better participation by formerly incarcerated people of all ideologies.
· HB 770 (Dutton, D-Houston) would have required the Texas Department of Criminal Justice to provide basic information about voting rights to formerly incarcerated people as it pertains to their eligibility. Although this bi-partisan legislation overwhelmingly passed both chambers of the legislature this session, Governor Perry vetoed it. (Two years ago, this legislation didn’t move far in either chamber.)
· The veto was especially unfortunate because, by mandating that TDCJ issue voter information, HB 770 would have allowed the State to avoid the issue of having partisan groups distribute literature to exiting ex-felons that may influence their votes. Furthermore, had HB 770 become law, a consistent information and delivery system would have been implemented at all re-entry points.
Very few organizations focus on educating formerly incarcerated people about voting rights, so TCJC’s role will be critical in the coming biennium in light of the veto.
Civic participation and re-entry initiatives
Voting is the simplest and most direct thing individuals can do to ensure election of leaders who will push for needed improvements in housing, education, and employment. To encourage formerly incarcerated people to represent themselves in the political process – while also reducing barriers that prevent people from getting jobs, housing, and feeding their families – TCJC is taking the following steps:
· Creating and disseminating information (including a manual and other materials) to assist voter registrars in complying with state legislation passed in 1997 that allows individuals with felony convictions to vote as soon as they are “off paper”. We also conducted a survey to determine whether county officials were complying with the legislation (most of them are!).
· Working with entities that assist those who are coming out of the system to analyze the impact that barriers to re-entry have on the economy and local communities.
· Assisting the House Corrections Committee with an interim study dealing with re-entry issues, with a specific focus on barriers to housing, employment, and education.
Join and be a part of the solution!
If you work with formerly incarcerated people – maybe you minister to prisoners and parolees, supervise people on parole, or have a family member who was incarcerated – you can help us develop solutions that will assist with the re-integration of formerly incarcerated people so that they can obtain jobs, housing, and educational tools. People need a chance to reform themselves, and they need a helping hand. TCJC will have information and materials for you to help people register to vote, clarify their rights so that can be invested in the very same communities that they’re returning to, or volunteer to help others.
To help us with this transition, contact Ana Yáñez-Correa at