Out on Parole, and Turning Out to Vote

Rahson Johnson was going to vote for the first time in his life, at 43 years old. Arrested and sent to prison for armed robbery at age 16, Johnson had lost the right to vote before he was old enough to cast a ballot. He’d gotten out of prison in 2015, but never had the chance to vote, since New York law blocks people on parole from voting.

That changed in April, when Gov. Andrew Cuomo issued an executive order restoring voting rights to more than 30,000 [individuals on parole], including Johnson. But he faced one more obstacle on Election Day last month.

“When I got there, my name wasn’t even in the system,” Johnson told City & State. “So I had to vote by way of affidavit, which was a learning experience for me. But I felt so proud that I was able to do that.”

Johnson was one of five [individuals on parole] who spoke with City & State about his experiences with voting, keeping up with politics and negotiating the state Board of Parole.We met on an October morning in Long Island City at the Fortune Society, a nonprofit organization serving formerly incarcerated New Yorkers. Some of the [individuals on parole] knew each other already, having served time together. Now they were now free together, commuting to their jobs, and coming and going as they pleased. They laughed about Johnson’s voting snafu, and his excitement in getting an “I voted” sticker. After the sweaty-palms, nerve-wracking experience of facing the will-they-or-won’t-they parole board, facing one little bump on the way to voting was a relative breeze.