close
close

Ourladyoftheassumptionparish

Part - Newstatenabenn

Wed. Oct 23rd, 2024
patheur

How Oklahomans in jail and prison would vote in the upcoming election

By Sheisoe
How Oklahomans in jail and prison would vote in the upcoming election

Among Oklahomans who are in prison and cannot vote, and among those in prison who can vote by absentee ballot, preferences for the next U.S. president are close.

As part of a recent national survey, people in Oklahoma prisons and jails were asked about their political preferences. Initially, more supported former President Donald Trump – a candidate with 34 felonies. The race heated up a bit when Vice President Kamala Harris – a former prosecutor – accepted the Democratic nomination.

Nonprofit news outlet The Marshall Project partnered with Columbia University to survey 54,000 people incarcerated in prisons across the country, including about 2,040 Oklahomans, although not everyone answered every question. Oklahoma had a high response rate to the voluntary survey compared to other states, according to The Marshall Project.

According to the U.S. Bureau of Justice Statistics, the Sooner State has the fourth-highest incarceration rate in the United States, with a rate of 563 people for every 100,000 residents.

Survey responses highlighted the diverse political views and opinions of people who have interacted with the criminal justice system. Thirty-four percent of Oklahomans identified their political affiliation as independent, while Republicans followed at 23% and Democrats at 16%. This reflected a national trend.

Although they cannot vote now, most people returning from prison will be able to vote in future elections. More than two million Americans have regained their voting rights since 1997, according to an analysis by The Sentencing Project.

Starting in 2025, Oklahoma will expand opportunities for people convicted of crimes to regain the right to vote. State Rep. Regina Goodwin, D-Tulsa, who is a leading supporter of the effort to restore voting rights, said she believes voting is a fundamental right.

“When a person was in jail and we got him registered, he said, ‘I feel like a person now,’” she told The Oklahoman, adding that today’s votes impact future generations. “It’s about having the freedom to vote and having that voice.”

Support for Trump is declining and Harris is doubling Biden’s support

The first survey, conducted in June, found a wide divide between former President Donald Trump and President Joe Biden, with 47% of people in Oklahoma prisons who responded to the survey saying they preferred gave to Trump. Only 16% supported Biden.

Nationally, 50% of respondents said they would vote for Trump and 17% said they would support Biden.

The results are not representative of the views of the national inmate population or the Oklahoma jail and prison population. Although Oklahoma had a high response rate compared to other states, turnout still represented only a fraction of the state’s incarcerated population. There are about 21,000 people in 22 prisons across the state, according to the most recent weekly count from the Oklahoma Department of Corrections.

The survey also allowed people to share their opinions about the candidates.

One man who said he would vote for Trump said he believed the former president should receive the same treatment as others convicted of a crime.

“The rich get away with it because they can pay their way out of it. No one is above the law. He should be treated as the lowest of society would be treated in the same scenario,” said the man, who identified as white and is incarcerated at the Joseph Harp Correctional Center in Lexington. The man and several other respondents chose not to be identified when completing the survey.

After Harris entered the race in August, her support among Oklahomans surveyed skyrocketed to 36%, more than double Biden’s. Trump’s support declined, but remained a few points ahead at 39%. Nationally, Trump had support at 46%, while Harris took 33%.

A woman who was locked up in the Dr. Eddie Warrior Correctional Center in Taft said she would vote for Harris if given the chance.

“As a woman in prison and the mother of a child who was murdered, the juvenile reasoning of ‘cop versus criminal’ is infuriating,” the woman said. “Not all criminals are guilty and not all police officers are innocent. I believe the gap between the two is getting smaller.”

Responses were broken down by race, party and which candidate people generally preferred. In Oklahoma, along with the rest of the country, there was a noticeable shift among people identifying their race only as black after Harris replaced Biden. In the first poll, 26% showed support for Biden, while 53% showed support for Trump. In the second poll, 68% supported Harris, while Trump dropped to 45%.

A Black man incarcerated at the John Lilley Correctional Center in Boley said he supported Trump, who he believed should be fined and placed on probation because of his criminal convictions.

“I don’t know the facts. I wasn’t in the jury box. However, they found him guilty,” the man said. “As president, he must ensure that no one is above the law. He does not deserve a prison sentence, but he does deserve some form of repercussions for his conviction.”

Another notable shift when considering respondents’ race was the increase in the number of people who identified as exclusively Hispanic or Latino and expressed support for Harris. In the first survey, 28% said they would vote for Biden, but in the second survey, 57% said they would vote for Harris. Support for Trump fell from 38% to less than 30%.

“I can’t say I really have an opinion about Kamala Harris. But I can say that our country is in a season of change! And if other countries have chosen to elect female heads of state, then here in our country we can choose change for equal access to the gender of our political leaders,” said a Latino man incarcerated at the Allen Gamble Correctional Center in Holdenville . Just as no one is above the law, one gender is not better than the other when it comes to equal rights to pay or employment.”

Sixty-four percent of incarcerated Oklahomans who identified only as Native American said they would vote for Trump if Biden were on the ticket, but when Harris entered the race, support for Trump dropped to 45%. Thirty percent of respondents said they would vote for Harris.

Among people who identified with a political party, most Oklahomans stuck with candidates who represented their party, but about 10% of Republicans and Democrats said in the second survey they would vote for the opposing candidate. Thirty-four percent of Oklahoma independents who answered the second survey said they would vote for Trump and 32% said they would vote for Harris.

Republicans in Oklahoma make up about 52% of eligible voters, while Democrats follow with 28% and independents claim 19% of voters, according to the Oklahoma State Election Board’s most recent voter registration report. Libertarians make up almost 1%.

One man polled said he thought Biden was mostly a “figurehead” rather than a lawmaker, but that he would support Harris.

“Mrs. Kamala Harris still has a lot to learn; However, I am fully convinced that she has the cognitive thinking and training to be our President. Personally, I believe that Mr. Trump taking office would be the greatest catastrophe that our country has ever seen,” said the man, who identified as white and is incarcerated at the Oklahoma State Reformatory in Granite.

Efforts to regain voting rights are now stronger

Respondents were also asked whether people with a conviction should be able to vote. In Oklahoma, 64% said they should be able to vote while in prison for any crime. Twenty-eight percent said they should be able to vote after leaving prison, 6% said they should vote while in prison, but only if their conviction was a nonviolent crime. Only 1%, or 22 people, believe people with felony convictions should not vote after leaving prison.

According to the National Conference of State Legislatures, state policies vary widely in how people can restore their voting rights. Two states — Maine and Vermont — and the District of Columbia allow people with felonies to keep their voting rights even while in prison.

Twenty-three states, including Oklahoma, take away voting rights while people are incarcerated but allow them to re-register under various circumstances once they are released. In ten states, people with felony convictions indefinitely lose their right to vote for certain crimes, must obtain a pardon from the governor, must wait for the remainder of their sentence to expire, or must take some other type of action.

Oklahoma allows people to regain their voting rights after a felony conviction if they meet certain requirements.

In 2019, Goodwin authored a bill that clarified language on Oklahoma’s demand to regain voting rights. Under the law, people had to wait before they could re-register after the full term of their sentence had expired. The confusion arose because many interpreted the language because they had to wait the same amount of time as their sentence had been served before they could register to vote. Someone with a 10-year sentence who was released after seven years would have to wait three years to register to vote, Goodwin said.

A new bill authored by Goodwin that will become law Jan. 1 will add three more options for people to regain their voting rights, including commutations and pardons. Two other Democratic lawmakers, Rep. Ajay Pittman and Sen. George Young, both representatives of Oklahoma City, helped carry the bill.

(This story is based on the Marshall Project’s recent survey of incarcerated people.)

By Sheisoe

Related Post

patheur

Enjoy the beauty of Iceland, but keep your eyes on the road

Sheisoe Oct 23, 2024
patheur

Schlossklinik Rottenburg: 30 years, but not static

Sheisoe Oct 23, 2024
patheur

“Schraub an deiner Karriere”: Kellner & Kunz Wels with new Image Campaign

Sheisoe Oct 23, 2024

You Missed

patheur

Enjoy the beauty of Iceland, but keep your eyes on the road

patheur

Schlossklinik Rottenburg: 30 years, but not static

patheur

“Schraub an deiner Karriere”: Kellner & Kunz Wels with new Image Campaign

patheur

Ziplining on Long Island and Queens: Where to Go