Kyeesha Alexander found work at a Sonic Drive-In and a place to live with her parents after being released from prison in May.
Though the coronavirus pandemic has made re-entry difficult, the 27-year-old from Enid says she’s dedicated to staying clean and gaining financial independence. Free from state supervision, she’s able to travel freely and live without fear of a parole violation sending her back to prison.
One thing Alexander still can’t do is vote. That’s because Oklahoma requires those with a felony conviction to complete their full, court-mandated sentence before restoring their voting rights. Supporters of the statute argue that a person who breaks the law shouldn’t be trusted with a voice in the political process.
In July 2019, Alexander was convicted of second degree forgery and sentenced to seven years in prison. Less than four months later on Nov. 1, Alexander’s sentence was commuted to one year as part of the largest single-day mass commutation in U.S. history. But in the eyes of the State Election Board, she’s still serving out her court-mandated calendar sentence of seven years and won’t be eligible to vote until July 2026.
Oklahoma requires court clerks in all 77 counties to send a monthly list of people convicted of felonies to their local county election board. The election officials must cancel the voter registration of anyone who resides in the county, and forward the names of non-residents to the State Election Board.
Someone like Alexander may not register to vote again until their court-mandated sentence is complete. The State Election Board is not notified when the Department of Corrections chooses to discharge a person early or the governor’s office approves a commutation request.
Prior to being released, Alexander says nobody explained this process to her.
“Everyone in prison believes that once you’re sentenced to a felony, you’re no longer able to vote ever again,” she said.
Each state imposes its own voting restrictions for felons, which can contribute to the confusion. While Maine and Vermont let their prisoners cast mail-in ballots from their cells, Kentucky permanently bans any person with a violent felony conviction from ever voting. An estimated 5.1 million people nationwide are disenfranchised because of their criminal record, according to an Oct. 14 report by The Sentencing Project, a Washington, D.C.-based criminal justice research and reform advocacy group.
The Sentencing Project estimates 56,995 Oklahomans are disenfranchised. However, this number is likely missing thousands of people like Alexander who have been discharged from Department of Corrections supervision but are still serving out their full sentences.