Unlocking the Vote

press release: In Wisconsin, former felons cannot register to vote until they have completed probation, parole, and any other extended supervision. Even then, many are still not aware that their civil rights have been fully restored and are wary about voting.

Many of our members are actively engaged in League efforts to have fair maps drawn in the 2020 redistricting process following the 2020 census. Prison gerrymandering is an aspect of the redistricting process that many in America, in Wisconsin, and in Dane County are not aware of.

NPR aired a report on January 1, 2020, featuring this issue related to Waupun Correctional Institution and Dodge County Correctional Institution.

We hope you’ll join us as we explore these topics and others related to structural discrimination against formerly incarcerated people with speaker Frank Davis.

Saturday, February 1, 10 a.m. to noon, Madison College South (Goodman Campus), 2429 Perry St., Rooms 201 and 203

Frank Davis is an activist, community leader, and a self-described “Inspirationist.” He is also a statewide board member of EXPO (Ex-incarcerated People Organizing), an organization that works to end mass incarceration, eliminate all forms of structural discrimination against formerly incarcerated people, and restore formerly incarcerated people to full participation in the life of our communities. For the last three years he was the Lead Organizer of MOSES, a nonprofit organization that fights for policy reform around the criminal justice system. He has fought to bring awareness of issues in the criminal justice system, including solitary confinement, old law, and revocation. While at MOSES, he spearheaded their Integrated Voter Engagement (IVE) campaign, Relational Voter Program (RVP), and other efforts to get people engaged, informed, and registered to vote. Frank has worked with Prison Ministries of Wisconsin, traveling around the state erecting a life-sized model of the solitary confinement cell and speaking about the mental effects that it has on the men and women inside prison and on the family members who support them. He shares his first-hand accounts of spending more than 5 years in solitary (3 years consecutively at Wisconsin’s old Super Max in Boscobel). He has a passion to give back to the community and to be a catalyst of change within the criminal justice system and beyond. 

After spending close to 23 years in prison, Frank prepared himself for a solid return to the community. Frank has mentored young men dealing with drug addiction and life struggles at the Daily Report Center, encouraging them with stories of accomplishment and ways of positive thinking. For 2 years he was a freelance writer, publishing articles for UMOJA magazine and The Madison Times. He also went back to school, receiving his degree in the field of CNC Programming and Tool and Die.

After successfully completing 9 years of community supervision, he was able to regain his full rights and vote for the first time at the time in February of 2018. Frank continue to work to change things in his neighborhood and the community of Madison.