Thread by @ConnorASheets

Thread on what @SarahWhitesk & I learned while reporting out this investigation into recent widespread felon disenfranchisement in Alabama that had previously gone unreported. 1/X
al.com/news/2020/10/i…

In 2017, Alabama passed a law that greatly pared back the list of felony convictions that automatically result in loss of the franchise. Many observers assumed thousands of felons would be informed that they had regained the right to vote. al.com/news/2017/05/g… 2/X

But that didn't turn out to be the case, as Secretary of State John Merrill has maintained to this day that it's not his job to educate felons about the development. Thousands of felons remained unaware that their right to register to vote had retroactively been restored. 3/X

So advocacy groups launched efforts to educate and assist felons across the state, registering thousands to vote in the process 4/X
al.com/news/2017/07/r…

Months after the law was passed 2017, registrars across the state told me they were still barring people from voting for reasons that were not legitimate under the law 5/X al.com/news/2017/10/a…

Fast forward to today: County officials across the state are still wrongly blocking felons from voting. Plus, in recent months, officials & advocates say the state sent letters to hundreds (likely thousands) of felons that incorrectly stated they were not eligible to vote. 6/X

Take the case of Gerald Jemison. He received a letter saying he couldn't vote because he owed fines and fees stemming from two 2009 felony convictions. But he actually paid them off in 2014. 7/X
al.com/news/2020/10/i…

Jefferson Co. Commissioner Sheila Tyson advocated for him, but was unsuccessful. The state hasn't addressed the issue so Jemison is ineligible to vote Tuesday. "I pay my taxes, I did my time, but I’m still being punished for something that happened 10, 12 yrs ago,” he said. 8/X

Jemison's story is playing out for felons in counties across Alabama, though most don't even have the assistance that Tyson was able to provide. So illegitimate issues raised for the first time this year are keeping them from voting in this election. 9/X

I talked to the daughter of a woman in her eighties who didn't want to be quoted. The woman, who is black, received a letter from the state saying she's ineligible to vote this year for the first time in decades. Why? Because she was convicted of a under Jim Crow. 10/X

Some Alabama felons, like Julie Coleman, were able - with sufficient time & support - to restore their wrongly revoked voting rights in time to vote this year. But like Coleman, they're often disturbed that they improperly lost the franchise in the first place. 11/X

Coleman has a conviction for felony drug distribution. With that conviction, the 2017 law should have restored her voting rights. But she received a letter earlier this year from the Morgan County registrar's office saying the crime still disqualified her from voting. 12/X

“For them to shut me down, it was pretty disappointing,” Coleman said of her initial rejection. “It was a lot of time. It was a lot of just having to call this person, call that person. Look up this, look that up.” 13/X

Advocates including Blair Bowie of @CampaignLegal advocated on Coleman's behalf and she was ultimately able to register to vote. 14/X

But the problem persists for many Alabama felons, Bowie said:
“We’re still seeing pretty regular misinterpretations of the law by the registrars, and sometimes [the Alabama Board of Pardons and Paroles] and other officials, resulting in people getting their voting rights denied."

Bowie says state officials are largely to blame: “The Secretary of State hasn't ... explained to the registrars how it’s supposed to work. The unlawful voter suppression we & other groups have documented is easily avoidable & likely represents only the tip of the iceberg.” 16/X

But Grace Newcombe, a spokeswoman for Secretary of State John Merrill, says that his office has gone to great lengths to educate officials and the public: 17/X

Yet Alabamians like Angelique Harris remain ineligible to vote. She's been unsuccessfully trying to restore her voting rights since she lost the franchise 3 yrs ago because of 2 federal felonies convictions that don't directly translate to disqualifying felonies in Alabama. 18/X

“There’s nothing in my conviction that would deny me my right to vote,” Harris said. “It’s frustrating when you know that the law is on your side and they still want to turn a deaf ear to you.”

Thanks for reading. Full story below.
- End Thread 19/19 -

al.com/news/2020/10/i…