Pass HB 265 in the Louisiana Senate - Advancement Project - Advancement Project

Pass HB 265 in the Louisiana Senate

Formerly Incarcerated People Are Fighting to Pass a Voting Rights Bill in Louisiana
VOTE-Action-01.png

What Would HB 265 Do?

  • Reduce the time people on probation and parole for conviction of a felony would have their voting rights suspended.
  • Restore voting rights to people on probation who have not violated its terms and those on parole who have not been incarcerated for the past five years.
  • Currently, people with felony convictions cannot vote while they are on probation and parole. HB 265 would allow people with felony convictions to vote if they have not been incarcerated within the last five years.

Formerly incarcerated people are in a big fight for voting rights in the Louisiana State Legislature - and they need your help. At stake is HB 265, a bill that would allow people on parole and probation to regain their voting rights sooner.

Louisiana has the highest rate of incarceration nationwide and the highest numbers of families directly impacted by criminal convictions. Our communities are systematically stripped of the essential pillar of our democracy: the fundamental right to vote.

The exciting news is that the grassroots organization leading the charge, Voice of the Experienced (VOTE) has already managed to pass HB 265 in the Louisiana House of Representatives thanks to overwhelming grassroots support.

Now, we need your help telling Louisiana state senators that we demand voting rights now.  A victory on HB 265 would open the doors of democracy to parolees and probationers who have been out of prison for five or more years.

By taking a simple step now, you can help VOTE push this bill over the finish line.

We need to let our legislators know that:

  • It is wrong to deny voting rights to parolees and probationers who are our beloved neighbors, who worship alongside us, who work hard and pay taxes, who raise families. Parolees and probationers are part of our democracy and should have a voice in it.
  • Parolees and probationers have served their time and are now living in our communities. They should not made voiceless, invisible, and silent bystanders in our democracy.
  • Voting in Louisiana is a constitutionally protected fundamental right for all. We should not let politicians undermine the authority of the Constitution by continuing to limit the voting rights of parolees and probationers. VOTE is challenging Louisiana's voter disenfranchisement scheme in the courts and supports HB 265 as a step forward.
  • Louisiana's denial of the right to vote to probationers and parolees disproportionately disenfranchises African Americans. Louisianans of different backgrounds and races are denied their right to vote with African Americans disproportionately impacted at numbers almost twice their population.

KEEP READING

Advancement Project Reacts to Supreme Court Victory for Voters in Moore vs Harper

WASHINGTON, DC – In response to today’s Supreme Court decision on the Moore vs Harper case, Advancement Project executive director Judith Browne Dianis issued this statement: “Today’s decision is a tremendous victory for voters. We only narrowly escaped a world where the Supreme Court would have handed state legislators with the full blown power to manipulate elections and run rogue, taking away our power as voters and undermining democracy. However, this does not detract from what we already know to be true: that despite this win, access to the ballot for Black, Latinx, Indigenous…

Read More
White Paper Released as Louisiana Legislature Hears HB 396 to Streamline Voter Registration Process for People with Felony Convictions this Wednesday

New Orleans, LA – Today, Voice of the Experienced (VOTE), Advancement Project, and political scientist Dr. Ariel White released a new white paper titled “No Surrender, No Retreat! Removing Barriers to the Ballot Box for Formerly Incarcerated People in Louisiana.” The white paper unveils the 64-parish survey of the registrars of voters, while also highlighting the historical challenges faced by Louisiana voters with felony convictions when trying to register to vote.   Shockingly, only 23 out of 46 parishes, or 50%, correctly stated that…

Read More
Plaintiffs Challenging Florida’s SB 90 React to 11th Circuit Reversal

WASHINGTON, D.C. — Yesterday, a panel of the 11th Circuit Court of Appeals reversed a district court decision and allowed Florida to continue to force communities of color to navigate unnecessary obstacles in order to vote.  This decision undercuts the thorough analysis of the district court which rightfully found that Florida’s SB 90 was adopted with the intent to discriminate against Black voters in violation of the Fourteenth and Fifteenth Amendments as well as section 2 of the Voting Rights Act. Additionally, the 11th Circuit reversed the decision by the lower court…

Read More
Advancement Project Releases Poll and Focus Group Data on Gen Z Voters of Color Spanning Four States

Advancement Project Releases Poll and Focus Group Data on Gen Z Voters of Color in Michigan, Florida, Georgia, and Virginia Issues that rose to the top include abortion access, the economy, and systemic racism and discrimination WASHINGTON D.C. – Today, Advancement Project released findings from a poll and focus groups of Gen Z voters of color (Black, Latinx, Indigenous, and Asian American and Pacific Islander) in Michigan, Florida, Georgia, and Virginia ahead of the upcoming midterm elections. This survey was conducted by HIT Strategies in September 2022.  “We know that when our…

Read More
BREAKING: Court Denies Motion from Civil Rights Groups Challenging Georgia’s Voting Line Relief Ban

GEORGIA – The United States District Court for the Northern District of Georgia denied a motion for a preliminary injunction to suspend the line relief ban in Senate Bill 202. Line relief is the practice of distributing food, water and other support to voters stuck waiting in line at a polling place. The plaintiffs include local Black faith leaders and Georgia civil rights groups. In response, Jess Unger, Staff Attorney for the Power and Democracy program at Advancement Project National Office, released this statement: “The criminalization of people providing food and water to voters who are waiting to cast their…

Read More
Hearing in Lawsuit Challenging Georgia Anti-Voting Rights Law Weighs Impact of Line Relief Restrictions

GEORGIA —  The United States District Court for the Northern District of Georgia will be hearing motions for a preliminary injunction in the consolidated litigation challenging SB 202 (In Re Georgia Senate Bill 202). This hearing will consider the “line relief” provision that criminalizes those who provide voters waiting in line with food and water, which disproportionately impacts communities of color in Georgia who face some of the longest waiting times at the ballot box in the country.  SB 202 creates significant barriers for Black, Latinx and other voters of color…

Read More
Advancement Project National Office Condemns New Anti-Voting Rights Law in Florida that Creates Office of Election Crimes, Mandates Special Voter-Fraud Police Officers

FLORIDA – Moments ago, Governor DeSantis signed into law a bill passed by the Republican Florida legislature that claims to fight “voter fraud” by creating an Office of Election Crimes and mandating the appointment of “special” members of law enforcement.  This comes on the heels of the conclusion of a trial challenging SB 90, another anti-voting rights measure in Florida. This law was successfully challenged in court by several national and Florida civil rights and voting rights groups, including Advancement Project. Similar anti-voting rights bills…

Read More
Civil Rights Organizations Celebrate Decision in Florida Voting Rights Trial

Chief U.S. District Judge Mark Walker released a landmark decision today in the nationally-watched voting rights trial on Florida’s SB 90 bill to strike down key provisions of the law. This restrictive voting law passed by the Republican-majority legislature and Gov. DeSantis  would have put in place new constraints on the use of drop boxes and organizations conducting voter registration drives, among other measures that would significantly hinder access to the vote for millions of state residents.

Read More
Trial Challenging Florida’s SB 90 Voter Suppression Law Begins Today

TALLAHASSEE, Fla. —  A trial challenging SB 90 (League of Women Voters v Lee), a Florida measure to make it harder and in many ways impossible for Black and Brown people to vote, kicked off on Monday, Jan. 31. This is one of the first trials of the year challenging anti-voting laws at the state level. It comes just as national voting rights efforts have stalled, with the Senate recently failing to change rules on the filibuster to pass voting rights.  SB 90 was passed by the Republican-controlled Florida Legislature and Gov. Ron DeSantis in spring…

Read More
Advancement Project National Office Statement on the Senate’s Failure to Pass Voting Rights Legislation

WASHINGTON — Last night, the Senate blocked the Freedom to Vote John R. Lewis Act from advancing to a final passage vote. In response to this, Judith Browne Dianis, Executive Director of the Advancement Project National Office released this statement: “Last night, all 50 Senate Republicans and two Senate Democrats voted to maintain the filibuster and block the Freedom to Vote Act and John Lewis Voting Rights Advancement Act from advancing to a final vote. These bills would protect voters and undo many of the barriers and restrictions that bar thousands of Black, Latinx, Asian, and…

Read More