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to be contradictory to the goals of a democracy, the rehabilitation of felons, and their successful reentry to the community. Therefore, ACA advocates:
1 BJS. (2017, June). Special Report. Drug Use, Dependence, and Abuse Among State Prisoners and Jail Inmates, 2007-2009. 2 Binswanger IA, Blatchford PJ, Mueller SR, and Stern MF. Mortality After Prison Release: Opioid Overdose and Other Causes of Death, Risk Factors, and Time Trends From 1999 to 2009. Ann Intern Med 2013 Nov 5; 159(9): 592–600. 3 Sordo L, Barrio G, Bravo MJ, et al. Mortality risk during and after opioid substitution treatment: systematic review and meta-analysis of cohort studies. BMJ 2017;357:j1550 4 Lee JD, Friedmann PD, Kinlock TW, et al. Extended-Release Naltrexone to Prevent Opioid Relapse in Criminal Justice Offenders. N Engl J Med 2016;374:1232-42. 5 https://www.whitehouse.gov/sites/whitehouse.gov/files/ondcp/ commission-interim-report.pdf 6 ASAM. National Practice Guideline for the Use of Medications in the Treatment of Addiction Involving Opioid Use (ASAM, 2015). PUBLIC CORRECTIONAL POLICY ON RESTORATION OF VOTING RIGHTS 2005-3 Introduction: People convicted of crimes are expected to be come responsible citizens after being discharged from correctional supervision. However, many individuals are excluded from exercising their civic rights because they are banned from vot ing in many jurisdictions. The laws that prohibit voting, even after they have been discharged from correctional supervision, negatively impacts their attempts to fully reenter society successfully, reduce the voting constituency, and dispropor tionately exclude a large number of people from participating fully in society. Multiple states place some form of restriction on felon voting rights. Some states have developed processes to restore voting rights, but many felons are unaware of them, do not present the proper documentation, or the processes are often cumbersome and dis courage voting. Policy Statement: The American Correctional Association af firms that voting is a fundamental right in a democracy and it considers a ban on voting after a felon is discharged from correctional supervision
A. Restoring voting rights for felons upon the completion of their sentence;
B. Encouraging restoration of voting rights for those on community supervision;
C. Developing protocols for federal, state, and local correctional agencies that inform those near their release about the means by which their voting rights will be restored and provide education and assistance in completing the restoration process to regain their civil rights; and D. Developing state election agency proce dures that permit eligible felons to vote in elections after completing and filing all necessary paperwork. This Public Correctional Policy was unanimously ratified by the ACA Delegate Assembly at the Winter Conference in Phoenix, AZ on January 12, 2005. It was last reviewed and reaffirmed at the Winter Con ference in Orlando, FL on January 14, 2025. CT
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