Giving former incarcerated citizens tools to get registered and ready to vote
Hamilton County Office of Reentry is teaming up to spread awareness that returning citizens have the right to vote after they have served their felony sentence.
Hamilton County Office of Reentry is part of the Greater Cincinnati Voter Collaborative, a collective of nonprofit, civic, faith, and business organizations that coordinate voter resources. Their goal is to amplify non-partisan, safe, civically-responsible voter engagement and advocacy efforts to the citizens of Greater Cincinnati.
Part of the mission is to spread the word to returning citizens that they can register to vote once they have served their sentence. In Ohio, people convicted and incarcerated on a felony will have their voter registration canceled but can re-register once released. People convicted of misdemeanors are eligible to vote even if they are incarcerated. Everyone must be registered to vote 30 days before the November election.
“Most Ohioans who have completed their felony sentence, don’t know that they can vote but they must re-register,” said former Judge Nadine Allen. “People who have served their time have the right to engage in the political process.”
“Fully integrating people released from incarceration back into our community makes our communities safer,“ said Trina Jackson, Director of the Hamilton County Office of Reentry. “Restoring voting rights of returning citizens helps with that successful reentry by engaging citizens to participate in their communities’ future. It is a basic and essential right.”
For more information on the Greater Cincinnati Voter Collaborative, logon to CincyVotes.org/.