[Archived] City of Alexandria Hosts Voting Rights Restoration Clinic

City Press Release


	For Immediate Release	For More Information, Contact
	July 14, 2005 PIO# 233-05/rdo	Steven J. Mason, Public Information Officer, or Raynard Owens, Communications Officer, at 703.838.4300 Raynard Owens, Communications Officer, at 703.838.4300

City of Alexandria Hosts Voting Rights Restoration Clinic

The City of Alexandria will host the Voting Rights Restoration Clinic from 10 am to noon on Saturday, July 23, at the Lee Center, 1108 Jefferson St. The event is a joint effort between the City’s Office of Human Rights, the Alexandria Human Rights Commission, the Washington, DC-based Advancement Project, the Virginia Citizens United for the Rehabilitation of Errants, and the Alexandria Bar Association. During the clinic, participants will learn about the voting rights restoration process and its eligibility requirements.

In Virginia, the right to vote in state and federal elections is taken away from citizens convicted of a felony, whether in Virginia or another state. These rights can be restored. The Governor has the discretionary power to restore civil rights to eligible individuals who seek to have their rights restored, but the process takes six months or longer.

Volunteers from the Alexandria Human Rights Commission and the Alexandria Bar Association will help eligible former prisoners begin the application process.

City Council created the Human Rights Commission in 1975 to advise Council members on matters related to human rights affecting the City and to oversee the Office of Human Rights. The Office of Human Rights enforces the Alexandria Human Rights Ordinance, which precludes discrimination based on age, race, color, national origin, ancestry, religion, gender, sexual orientation, familial status, or disability.

For more information on the Voting Rights Restoration Clinic, call Jean Niebauer, Director of the City’s Office on Human Rights, at 703.838.6390.

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