Local volunteers shine a light on how the state of California restores the voting rights of people with felony convictions
Local volunteers from the Courageous Resistance Voter Registration Team run a voter registration booth at the Mary Pickford Is D'Place Theater in Cathedral City four days a week.
Becki Robinson, the coordinator for the group, is especially concerned with educating the public on how people with prior felony convictions can restore their voting rights.
After Proposition 17 was passed in 2020, these formerly incarcerated individuals regained the ability to register to vote.
Since then, the state of California has outlined processes for notifying these parolees.
In a letter sent to counties across the state, the Secretary of State's office writes that the California Department of Corrections must provide a list of identifying information (including names, county, voter IDs, and other information) for people on parole and people who have been released for a prior felony conviction each week.
The Secretary of State then tries to match that information with the state's voter registration database. If they find any matching records, they notify county election officials. These matching records are for individuals who have registered to vote in the past.
From there, each county is required to send a letter to these matching individuals and provides them with information on how to re-register to vote.
There's another list of names, though, called the Non-Matched Restoration List. These are individuals whose voting rights are restored, but since they have not previously registered to vote, do not match any past voting records.
The Secretary of State also sends these names to county election officials, but counties are not required to notify these individuals.
According to the Coachella Valley Independent, state records show that since April 2023, Riverside County has found 286 "matched voters," while another 2,767 names were unmatched.
Elizabeth Florer, the Public Information Officer for the Riverside County Registrar of Voters, says that the county sends notifications to everyone – matched or unmatched.
The California Secretary of State has several resources for convicted felons to re-register to vote, such as these informational guides. It also says its committed to restoring the voting rights of formerly incarcerated felons.
"The Secretary of State is committed to ensuring that all eligible Californians have the opportunity to participate in our democracy. Restoring voting rights for individuals who have completed their sentences is an essential step in ensuring that every voice is heard in the electoral process.
Our office has recently begun attending the California Department of Corrections and Rehabilitation (CDCR) Parole and Community Team meetings in various counties across the state. We are working closely with CDCR to ensure they have the most up-to-date Voting Rights Restored publications and posters for their parole offices and public spaces."
California Secretary of State
Stay with News Channel Three to learn more about these processes and hear why local volunteers think restoring these voting rights is so important.
