Letter from the editor- Felony disenfranchisement
By NORA THOMPSON
Could you imagine having to pay $700 to register to vote?
No one would do it. Voting, a civil right available to most U.S. reidents, suddenly would become a luxury.
This is a devastating reality for 221,000 people in Arizona. Just as Manny Mejias said during the Restore Your Vote press conference on Oct. 3: It’s like bringing back the poll tax.
America has a long history of voter suppression. It’s unfortunately a racist system that we live under, especially when, according to the Arizona Department of Corrections, 60.9 percent of inmates are non-white.
I got involved with Restore Your Vote Arizona, a project of the Campaign Legal Center. It’s a two-month campaign that’s focused on helping people with prior felony convictions get their rights returned. It’s current...