Free the Vote for Californians on Parole (ACA 6)

  • Status: Passed both chambers
  • Position: Support
  • Bill Number: ACA 6
  • Session: 2019-2020
  • Latest Update: June 2, 2020
A man holding a sign that reads: "Let Me Vote." Photo credit: Dorsey Nunn by Gigi Pandian, Let Me Vote Aug. 2014

Summary

Our democracy is rooted in the idea that everyone's voice matters. But right now, nearly 50,000 Californians on parole are unable to vote in local, state, or federal elections.

Voter suppression tactics consistently exclude Black and Brown people from our democracy. Felony disenfranchisement is a form of voter suppression that is rooted in racially discriminatory Jim Crow laws, which have suppressed the Black vote for the last century and a half. After the Civil War, California refused to ratify the 15th Amendment, which prohibits voting restrictions based on race, and instead included felony disenfranchisement in the state constitution.

We can move California forward and past this shameful chapter in our state's history by passing Assembly Constitutional Amendment 6. ACA 6 will ask California voters to restore the right to vote to people on parole in the 2020 ballot. ACA 6 is accompanied by AB 646, which enacts corresponding changes to California’s Elections Code. Our democracy is stronger when it is fair and inclusive. It's time to free the vote for formerly incarcerated people in California. It's time to pass ACA 6.

Tell your legislators to vote YES on ACA 6.

Bill Developments

June 24, 2020: Passed the Senate Floor
June 23, 2020: Approved by the Senate Appropriations Committee
June 18, 2020: Approved by the Senate Elections Committee
September 5, 2019: Passed the Assembly Floor
July 10, 2019: Approved by the Assembly Appropriations Committee
June 19, 2019: Approved by the Assembly Elections Committee
January 28, 2019: Bill is introduced

Authors:
Assembly members McCarty, Bonta, Carrillo, Gipson, Gonzalez, Kalra, Kamlager-Dove, Mullin, Mark Stone, and Weber. Principal coauthor: Senator Wiener.
Sponsors:
ACLU of California, Anti-Recidivism Coalition, All of Us or None, Californians United for a Responsible Budget, California Secretary of State Alex Padilla, Initiate Justice, League of Women Voters of California, Legal Services for Prisoners with Children,

Related Issues

First Amendment and Democracy Criminal Justice and Drug Policy Reform View All Issues

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News & Commentary
Aug 16, 2019
Richard Mireles testifying in Sacramento. Richard is hoping ACA 6 will give him and other Californians on parole the right to vote.
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Our Democracy Needs Everyone, Including People on Parole

After a parole board granted Richard Mireles his freedom earlier this year, he was shocked to learn that he still couldn't cast a vote in California, the state he had lived in since he was born. Just three months shy of his 21st birthday, a court gave Richard a life sentence on his first felony case. In the two decades of his incarceration, Richard worked hard to change his life. He got sober, worked to heal past traumas, earned his college degree and numerous commendations, and was even found suitable for release at his first parole hearing. It didn't seem right that California would continue punishing him after his release by denying him one his most fundamental rights of citizenship.
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