The American Civil Liberties Union of Tennessee (ACLU-TN) is holding a Right To Vote Conference entitled Breaking the Chains: From Jail Cell to Voting Booth on Thursday, May 3, from 8:30 to 4:30 at the United Steelworkers Union Hall (3340 Perimeter Hill Drive).
Conference highlights include:
- Marc Mauer addressing The US Record on Punishment (The Sentencing Project, Washington, DC);
- Jeff Manza discussing key findings published in his book Locked Out, Felon Disenfranchisement and American Democracy (Northwestern University, Evanston, IL);
- Rachel Bloom contrasting international disenfranchisement practices with the US record (National ACLU, Washington, DC); and
- Nancy Abudu highlighting pending challenges to the child support and restitution provisions of the current Tennessee law (ACLU Southern Voting Rights Project, Atlanta, GA).
Workshops are designed to:
- Answer attorney and paralegal questions about the new law and share methods for addressing voter restoration issues (CLE credits available);
- Offer agencies, organizations and churches strategies to help former felons register to vote (CEU credits available);
- Help former felons and their family members to improve their public speaking skills to better persuade the public to support voter re-enfranchisement.
For further information or to register contact the ACLU-TN Right to Vote Campaign at 615-320-7143 or rtv@aclu-tn.org, or visit the website at www.aclu-tn.org.
