With assurance and support, Native people with felony records head out to vote

circle up, ready to begin their day with an affirmation. Together the group vows to be positive, re-engage with their families and children, and fully participate as citizens in society.

After the affirmation Jason Allen, the program director for the south Minneapolis nonprofit reminds them that it’s nearly a week away from election day

“As we talked about a week or two ago, we’ve got a historic election coming up,” Allen yells over the warehouse din. “[If] you’ve never voted, this [is an] opportunity to participate in the democratic process like we talked about before.”

A few weeks ago, representatives from the Minnesota secretary of state’s office came to talk to the 20 or so participants about getting registered to vote. The men are all formerly incarcerated and many thought that since they had a felony on their record, voting was not an option. That is not the case.




https://www.mprnews.org/story/2024/10/31/with-assurance-and-support-native-people-with-felony-records-head-out-to-vote