Awareness Push to Restore Voting Rights for California’s Parolees Kicks Off
On Aug. 17, the “Yes On Prop 17” campaign held its Official Proposition 17 Campaign Virtual Kick-Off on Facebook Live. The event featured testimony from previously incarcerated persons on why more than 50,000 parolees in California deserve the right to vote. Prop 17, which passed the state legislature as ACA 6 in June, is a measure on the November ballot. If Californians vote to approve it, Prop 17 would amend the state constitution, granting any eligible person who is not currently incarcerated the right to vote. If passed, California would join 17 states that allow parolees to vote. Initiate Justice Co-founder and Executive Director Taina Vargas-Edmond hosted the event that featured Assemblymember Kevin McCarty (D – Sacramento), author of ACA 6, as well as Brandon Flynn, an activist and actor on the Netflix show “13 Reasons Why.”