Dear Illinois Legislature:

Governor J. B. Pritzker
Lieutenant Governor Juliana Stratton
House Speaker Michael Madigan
Representative Chris Welch

The right to vote is a fundamental component of American citizenship. Yet millions of Americans
have been stripped of this right and made to feel like second-class citizens because of laws that
exclude people from voting due to a criminal conviction. Inconsistent state laws have created a
common belief that formerly incarcerated individuals and those awaiting trial are ineligible,
effectively disenfranchising even more people. In Illinois there are over 43,000 people without
any direct access to voicing their concerns about their environment. Of that approximately
20,000 citizens detained on pre-trial in Illinois have the right to vote in elections. However,
without a formal process in place, voting in jail is nearly impossible. Passing SB 2090 would put
a formal process in place to protect citizens right to vote while in jail awaiting trial. SB 2090
would require county jails and election authorities to collaborate in creating that process.

In Illinois citizens' voting rights are restored immediately upon their release. Every year on
average 30,000 people return from prison completely unaware of their renewed voting status
and are, as a result, ill equipped to exercise those rights. Many individuals fail to register to vote
upon their release because of their lack of knowledge, believing that their criminal conviction
disqualifies them. SB 2090 will require the Illinois Department of Corrections to provide eligible
citizens released from custody with a voter registration application along with a know your rights
guide. This simple step will close the gap of knowledge that effectively disenfranchises tens of
thousands of people. Today there are approximately 4 million people residing in Illinois who
have a past criminal conviction who are all eligible to vote.

Felony disenfranchisement is not just anti-democratic and bad for public safety, it is an
unpopular practice that sprang from the most shameful period of American history, the Jim Crow
Era. Now is the moment for its abandonment. Felony disenfranchisement is as senseless as it is
cruel. It subverts a person’s fundamental right to participate as a full-fledged member of society.
We know that returning citizens are far less likely to be re-arrested when we support them in
their transitions back home. A large body of research shows that letting formerly incarcerated
people vote fosters skills and capacities which are rehabilitative, and is significantly correlated
with reducing re-arrest, incarceration, and self-reported criminality. Ensuring that all Americans
can vote is not just a vital affirmation of our national character, but an important policy to
enhance public safety and reduce recidivism.

Americans are finally starting to push back against this injustice with the Right2Vote Campaign,
the New Suffrage Movement led by those who are most impacted. This growing movement
against felony disenfranchisement includes dozens of organizations across the nation. With SB
2090 Illinois can become a leader in protecting the rights of pretrial detainees by ensuring that
the citizens access to the polls are protected regardless of their former incarceration status.
Illinois has the potential to move ahead in this national movement, we support SB 2090 and
urge Illinois' legislature to do all it can to move this bill through the process of becoming a law so
that our state can benefit from a fuller, more effective democracy.

If you have any questions or would like to discuss this further, please contact
Amani Sawari, National Right 2 Vote Campaign, at ​amanisawari@gmail.com

Sincerely,

National Right2Vote Cohort