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Recovery in the News
Ex-felons register for the right to vote
Stephen Janis
The Examiner
July 3, 2007
BALTIMORE - Ex-felons who had been shut out of the voter’s booth lined up outside the Baltimore City Board of Elections on Monday to register for their right to vote.
“This is a historic day,” said Kimberly Haven, executive director of the prisoner rights group Justice Maryland and herself an ex-offender. “It’s been a six-year journey for me to restore people’s right to participate in the political process.”
Joined by several ex-offenders, Haven said people who had served their time deserved to vote.
“We now join 38 other states that have already done this,” she said. “These are people who continue to contribute to our community, and they should be allowed this right.”
Other ex-felons agreed.
“According to the state of Maryland, I wasn’t a full citizen,” said David Waller, 50, a resident of Baltimore.
“Today, all that has changed,” he said.
“It has already changed my life,” said Walter Lomax, 59, who was released from prison after a judge reopened his case for a murder and robbery his lawyers contend he could not have committed because his arm was in a cast at the time the crime occurred.
“The era of political correctness is over. People are becoming more progressive and practical,” he said, crediting Gov. Martin O’Malley for supporting the law.
O’Malley signed the Voter Registration Protection Act of 2007 on April 24. The law restored the rights of ex-felons to vote after they had served out their sentences and probation. Previously, only nonviolent ex-offenders could vote after a three-year waiting period.
Voter rights advocates said the law could change the dynamics of city politics.
“A majority of the 52,000 felons in Maryland live in Baltimore,” said Millie Tyssowski from the League of Women Voters. “If they register to vote, they could have a major influence on the upcoming mayor’s race.”
sjanis@baltimoreexaminer.com