Some 50,000 parolees could potentially vote as soon as January 2021 along with 17-year-old high schoolers if voters pass Proposition 17 and Proposition 18 at the polls on Nov. 3.
“Proposition 17 was brought together by a coalition of nonprofits of people that have previously been incarcerated or on parole to overturn the California constitution, which disenfranchises people at the voting box that are on parole,” said Shay Franco-Clausen, campaign manager for Proposition 17. “We've gotten tons of support from hundreds of organizations, cities, and counties. It's overwhelming.”
Franco-Clausen added that the proposition is popular because most Californians believe that individuals who have paid their debt to society deserve a second chance.
“Parole is not punishment,” Franco-Clausen told the Southern California Record. “It's not an extension of the prison term. Parole is a reintegration process that is under the parole board. History is actually showing its ugly face right now as we address how the law has been unevenly distributed. As a society, we are still holding onto the Jim Crow era of laws that disenfranchise African-American, Latino, and indigenous people from voting.”
Currently, persons convicted of felonies are required to complete their prison and parole sentences before they can ever seek to vote again, according to Ballotpedia. Out of the 50 states, 17 allow parolees convicted of felonies to vote but not while imprisoned. Maine and Vermont are the only states that allow inmates to vote.
“We thought we would have opposition but there's not even a committee or campaign against us,” said Franco-Clausen in an interview. “Right now is the perfect time as you've seen across the nation to pass such a progressive law because people see how these laws were set up to disenfranchise and dismantle any political power that African-American and Latino people could have.”
Under Proposition 18, 17-year-olds would be allowed to vote in primary and preliminary elections if they will reach 18 years old by general Election Day for primary and preliminary elections, according to Courthouse News.
“What changes because your birthday is December 31st and it's December 30th,” said Attorney Mike Arias. “What changes in that one day when you turn 18? The problem I'm having is where do you stop?”
Others say 17 is too young to vote. Opponents argue at that age students are easily influenced, according to media reports.
But Arias contends that most already have established political views that are instilled by their families by the age of 17.
“Many of us are born in a political party and we're raised in a political party and you stick with that until such time as somebody shows you a reason why that party doesn't necessarily fit your own personality,” he said.