Prison gerrymandering: vote where they lived before prison
In almost every state in the country, a perverse mismatch between the population and the voting power occurs when incarcerated are counted in a process known as prison gerrymandering. In all but six states, the incarcerated residents are counted not in
their home neighborhoods but in the penal system. This means their communities have no access to the fiscal windfalls that could come from including them.
As the argument goes, prisoners should be counted in the prison beds where they sleep, not in
the houses where they lived before imprisonment. The consequence of that decision, however, is that the often struggling, under-resourced, and desperate communities where many of these men and women start never benefit from the investments
that could help deter crime and poverty. America's mass incarceration has led to the jailing of thousands of black and Latino bodies from Democrat-led communities that are typically Republican, where most of the penal facilities are located.
In 1992 riots, police treated all young blacks as guilty
[During the Rodney King riots in 1992, in Atlanta], as the police moved into our area of the city to quell the unrest, a strange thing happened. Tear gas rained down on our college quads, vile smoke filling the open spaces. Across the street, similar
bombs exploded in the eyes of section 8 housing dwellers. The police only saw congregations of young blacks, and race became a unifying marker of guilt. Watching the news, I heard false reports about why the area was under siege and facile explanations
for complex social problems. After seething and talking back to the television set, I called the most offensive station to demand they do a better job of telling the story.
Quickly, I looked up the numbers to all the TV stations. Before the advent of
24/7 news, most people got their sense of what's happening from just four networks. I went up and down the halls of my dorm and organized fellow students to begin calling the TV stations to extend our protest.
Stacey will focus on reforming bail policies, decriminalizing traffic offenses, increasing training that recognizes implicit bias, and stopping the shameful practices of private probation companies. We must expand reforms to support community policing.
However, reform efforts must also recognize that disparities in school funding, health care access, and job opportunities are inextricably related to over-incarceration and prolonged probation sentences.
Source: 2018 Georgia Governor website StaceyAbrams.com
, Aug 17, 2017
Voted YES on criminalizing "up-skirting"
HB 9: Commonly known as "up skirting," legislation criminalizes knowingly using any device or apparatus to observe, photograph, videotape, film, or record underneath such person's clothing for the purpose of
viewing intimate body parts or undergarments without the person's consent. Also unlawful to disseminate any such image or recording. MY VOTE: YES
Source: 2018 campaign website on Georgia voting record HB 9
, Mar 30, 2017
Voted NO on 10-year minimum for assaulting a cop
HB 258: Amends the Code regarding the aggravated assault of a peace officer by increasing the minimum sentence to ten years of imprisonment. If the aggravated assault of a peace officer involves the discharge of a firearm, none of the mandatory minimum
sentence can be probated, stayed, suspended, deferred or withheld.
MY VOTE: NO. I disagree with the increase of mandatory minimums and the lack of discretion available to judges to fully determine if extenuating circumstances are present.
Source: 2018 campaign website on Georgia voting record HB 258
, Mar 30, 2017