THE VOTER ENFRANCHISEMENT PROJECT (VEP)
Location: Bronx, NY
Project Name: EnfranchiseNY!
Project goals:
- Collaborate with the New York City and New York State Board of Elections to improve election officialsÕ understanding of the voting rights of individuals with criminal justice involvement;
- Work with stakeholders in the criminal justice system, including the New York State Division of Parole and the New York State Division of Probation and Correctional Alternatives, to register individuals with criminal justice involvement who are currently eligible to vote;
- Advocate for policy changes in New York StateÕs felon disenfranchisement law.
Project abstract:
Founded in the fall of 2005 by Columbia Law School graduate Maggie Williams, VEP is a nonpartisan effort increasing the civic participation of individuals with criminal justice involvement (CJI) in the South Bronx, New York City, and nationwide. The majority of VEPÕs constituents are low-income, Black and Latino New Yorkers who have had some contact with the criminal justice system. The primary funding source for VEP, the Open Society InstituteÕs NYC Social Justice Fellowship, draws to a close in March 2007. While seeking other longer-term funding sources, VEP is requesting a transitional grant of $15,000.
EnfranchiseNY! is a collaborative initiative with DÂemos: A Network for Ideas & Action and the Legal Action Center. Using a combination of policy-level reform efforts and grassroots organizing, EnfranchiseNY! will strive to eradicate the de facto disenfranchisement caused by the misinformation surrounding felon disenfranchisement law and to extend de juris voting rights to those under the supervision of the NYS Division of Parole.
Websites: www.bronxdefenders.org; www.betterballotsny.org