Removing the Scarlet Letter: Maryland’s New Legislation Extends Rights to Formerly Incarcerated Persons
Voter Protections Newsletter Volume 2 Issue 3
June 8, 2007
ON THE GROUND
By Kimberly Haven
July 1, 2007: I will cease to live my life as a bystander. One of the last vestiges of the collateral consequences of my incarceration has been removed. And on this date, the scarlet “F” that I must wear as a former felon will be somewhat muted. This has not been an easy road for me, and it has not been an easy road for my 52,000 brothers and sisters in Maryland who will also cease to be voiceless and powerless bystanders in our democratic society. On July 1, 2007, we will be eligible to register to vote.
With the passage of Maryland’s “Voter Registration Protection Act,” the political landscape in Maryland changed significantly. A new constituency has been born—a constituency that before was relegated to the role of bystander in their own lives—ghosts, if you will. The most basic tenet of democracy afforded to us as citizens of this country continued to elude us as we rebuilt our lives, shaped and contributed to our communities. We were seen but not heard—voiceless, powerless, and overlooked.
But on July 1, we will no longer be ghosts or bystanders. We will move to become registered voters. We will become civically engaged and we will begin to flex our political muscles. We will create new dialogues in our communities that will resonate in our local and state elections and that will become part of the upcoming presidential election. We have something to say and now we can say it.
What began as selfish act on my part when I came home from prison took on a life of its own when I recognized the unfairness of disenfranchising citizens after we have completed our sentence and returned to the community. I created a campaign that asked very simply: “Maryland, Got Democracy?” I knew that until we changed the law in our state, the answer was no. I have fought this fight for the past six years and backed with the support, passion, and vision of an incredible coalition, the Maryland Senate and House approved this historic legislation (SB-488) and Governor Martin O'Malley signed it into law on April 24, 2007.
But still I have yet to celebrate this accomplishment. As I drove crying to Annapolis on the day of the bill signing ceremony, the significance of the day was not lost on me. I knew that when I stood there, I represented my coalition, my brothers and sisters who would benefit from our work, the incredible men and women who fought the fight before me. The fight was for those who were no longer with us but who had been as passionate about the cause as me. It had been my honor and privilege to “carry the ball into the end zone” and the weight of that knowledge was immeasurable.
On April 24, I stood behind Governor O’Malley as he signed the bill. He turned back and handed me the pen and I knew that we had charted a new course for our state, and the impact of this legislation is significant. But I cannot celebrate yet…
While I know that we did something incredible in Maryland, the victory for me personally will come on Monday, July 2, when I will go with my brothers and sisters of this new constituency down to the local board of elections and turn in our voter registration applications. This will be a hard day for me and, most likely, I will cry again. But this time my tears will come at the fulfillment of a personal victory.
Kimberly Haven is the executive director of Justice Maryland, which is Maryland’s leading statewide criminal justice advocacy organization. Justice Maryland is a non-profit organization that seeks to coordinate its efforts into a centralized and powerful grassroots voice that advocates for a fair and equitable system of law along the full continuum from arrest to release.
