It would be an understatement to simply say that Tuesday was a big day for the state of Alabama. Not only was Democrat Doug Jones elected to the Senate (which will mark the first Democratic senator to represent the state in 25 years), but the state also had thousands of voters cast votes for the first time who were previously ineligible due to prior criminal convictions.
In May of this year, Gov. Kay Ivey (R) signed the Definition of Moral Turpitude Act into law, effectively enfranchising former felons previously barred by the Alabama constitution from voting. A similar effort was made by Democrats in Virginia this year, granting tens of thousands of Virginians the right to vote for the first time in November.
This move is surprising given that Alabama’s Republicans have been leading the way in the South in terms of voter suppression. They have done everything they can to make sure that people’s votes aren’t counted, including trying to destroy electronic ballot images right after Tuesday’s election. But this decision, to enfranchise thousands of formerly incarcerated people, is a wonderful thing. And it could be another reason that Democrats were successful in the election. Several of these voters were black and cast their votes for Doug Jones.
The best part was watching people after they had the chance to vote and realize that their voices counted in the political process. Take a look below.
And people went to great lengths to make it all happen. Pastor Kenneth Glasglow, the Rev. Al Sharpton’s half-brother, was in Alabama helping people register to vote.
Throughout the day Tuesday, Glasgow helped people with criminal convictions get to the polls and work through problems with their ballots. [...]
Two former felons Glasgow helped register to vote, Chazarius Harden and Kameron McGlown, didn’t have their drivers licenses to use as a form of valid photo identification. Harden said a cop took his license away after he was caught walking on the wrong side of the street, while McGlown said he lost his in a house fire. Glasgow suggested they use their mugshots.
It sounds like a huge stretch to use a mugshot as a form of ID, especially in a state with a history of notoriously difficult voter ID laws. But, it worked!
There are a few things to be said about this. First, let’s note how people feel empowered and show up to participate when they know their vote counts. It is true that voter apathy is an issue in the country across the board. But its also important to understand that sometimes people feel as if they don’t have anything to vote for—especially when systems and structures have contributed to their marginalization. And when people are engaged and candidates and political parties help them tap into vision and a sense of purpose, they are more likely to participate.
Regardless of party, we should be working to restore voter rights to former felons because it’s the right thing to do and will only make our democracy stronger, and is a step to ensure that people aren’t on the margins of society. But this is also an important opportunity for the Democratic Party. If we help register these voters, reach out to them, organize around the issues they care about, and stay accountable to them post-election, it’s a prime opportunity to change the political landscape in our favor.
In these days, when it’s easy to feel really cynical and question whether our system works at all, watching the experiences of these first time voters reminds us that when America is functioning at its very best, hope and change really are possible.