OFFICIALS LEGISLATION INTEREST GROUPS PUBLIC STATEMENTS COMMITTEES VETOES

For the People Act of 2021

Floor Speech

Date: March 2, 2021
Location: Washington, DC
Issues: Criminal Justice Elections

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Ms. TLAIB. Madam Speaker, I rise because voting is a right that must be extended to all people, and, yes, that includes currently and formerly incarcerated individuals.

Madam Speaker, in a country that has yet to fully make amends or pay restitution for its racist past, we must recognize that taking away the right to vote as punishment for a crime is directly tied to the racist, mass incarceration system that continues to wreak havoc on Black and Brown communities.

The stripping of the right to vote of incarcerated people, especially Black folks, is directly connected to the racist past of our country, from slavery and Jim Crow laws to mass incarceration. It was done with intent, to disenfranchise them for the most sacred right: to choose the people and policies that govern.

Madam Speaker, people need to look it up. There are countries that allow formerly incarcerated people to vote.

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