1. Let People Vote

2. The Facts
Current New Jersey law denies the right to vote to all people convicted of an indictable offense until they have completed all elements of parole and/or probation.
More than 90,000 New Jersey residents are barred from voting due to prior convictions, and most are no longer in detention.
And why would anyone deny the vote to 58,000 people on probation when they have never even been in jail?

3. The Facts
New Jersey leads the nation in racial disparities in black/white incarceration rates for both adults and youth.
African Americans make up just 15% of New Jersey’s population, but they represent about 50% of those who have lost their voting rights as a result of a criminal conviction.
1 in 13 African Americans in New Jersey is affected by current disenfranchisement laws.

4. NJ’s Legacy of Jim Crow
In 1844, New Jersey enacted its first broad ban on voting by people convicted of certain crimes. This was the same year the state restricted the right to vote to white men only.
In 1971, following a court challenge to NJ’s law, the statute was revised to include anyone convicted of any indictable offense. This came as our nation began to embrace the devastating practices of mass incarceration and mass disenfranchisement.

5. The impact
Patterns of harsher sentencing and over- policing have translated into the disproportionate disenfranchisement of people of color.
The impact of this disenfranchisement— a reduction in political influence at the ballot box—is felt most directly by New Jersey’s communities of color.

6. New Jersey Is an Outlier
No other state in the Northeast denies voting rights to as many people out of prison and serving parole or probation.
Vermont and Maine never strip convicted individuals of the vote.
16 states and the District of Columbia immediately restore the right to vote to all citizens who have been released from prison.

7. Why Support Voting Rights Restoration?
The U.S. Constitution establishes the right to vote for all citizens. People in prison don’t lose their other constitutionally guaranteed rights. Why should they lose their right to vote?
Many groups maintain that restoring voting rights gives people a stake in their communities, promotes civic engagement, and reduces recidivism.

8. Who Supports Voting Rights Restoration?
Over 110 New Jersey organizations are supporting this proposed legislation, including:
ACLU-NJ
American Friends Service Committee
Anti-Defamation League New Jersey Region
League of Women Voters of New Jersey
Leadership Conference on Civil & Human Rights
NAACP
Unitarian Universalist Faith Action NJ
AND
ACLU’s People Power “Let People Vote—Mercer County”!

9. Current NJ Legislation
Senate Bill S-2100
Assembly Bill A-3456
Both bills ensure the right to vote by persons convicted of an indictable offense who are on parole, on probation, or serving a prison sentence.

10. What Can You Do?
Contact your state legislators to urge their support for these bills: S-2100 & A-3456.
Contact these two NJ legislative committee chairs:
Senator James Beach:
Assemblyman Vincent Mazzeo:
Join our grassroots efforts:
Join the ACLU’s campaign to
Let People Vote in New Jersey: