It’s just one week from November 7, Election Day! Use our Recovery Community Civic Engagement Campaign to conduct bi-partisan Get-Out-the Vote activities and exercise your right to vote! In Rhode Island, voters will become the first statewide electorate to decide whether felons should vote immediately upon their release from prison.
Karen Carbuccia, a 27-year-old Pawtucket, Rhode Island resident, received a three-year sentence when she was incarcerated in 2002 for possession and intent to deliver a controlled substance. Since her release she has not been able to vote. According to an interview in the Kent County Daily Times, “Prior to her incarceration, she didn't have much involvement in the democratic process. But, since her release from prison, she has, she said, undergone a life-altering experience. 'I did not vote before my incarceration; in my family it wasn't pushed too much. Sure, my parents voted, but it wasn't an issue we discussed,' Carbuccia said. 'Since my incarceration, I am way more involved in the community. I am a substance abuse counselor today. My son, Vaskan Garabian, has special needs and I have been very involved with him and with his education and, when it comes time to vote on things like the school board elections, I have no say and I don't think this is fair.
'I have most definitely changed as a person,' she said. 'And I feel that, for most of those individuals who have served their time and have been found safe enough to be allowed back into the community, this right should be restored. I am a citizen, I pay taxes, and I work, so why can't I vote?'"