Fwd: Voting is not just a right, it is a lever for disruption!

Voting is not just a right, it is a lever for disruption!
MildGreens Media Release

Summary:
Retaining voting rights for those with convictions less than three
years is a restorative, moral and strategic imperative for a society
seeking to move beyond punishment and toward health, equity, and
inclusion.

Commentary
Restoring voting rights to short-term prisoners was a matter of
democratic fairness examined under due process, not 'soft on crime' as
the National Party is advocating.

Universal suffrage to those most affected was an appropriate lever for
capturing and disrupting the punitive logic of prohibition-based drug
policies. It strategically empowers the most affected populations,
supports reintegration and brings underrepresented perspectives into
the democratic process.

Removing voting rights is a retrograde step, playing to dog whistle
politics, pandering to fears where there should be none and
marginalising, in particular, drug policy reform.

The punitive logic of prohibition-based drug policies has long
extended beyond criminalisation, permeating civic exclusion and
democratic suppression.

A 'beyond prohibition' framework recognises that drug policy reform is
not only about ending criminal penalties but also about dismantling
the broader structures of marginalisation and disenfranchisement.
Restoring voting rights to short-term prisoners was one such
structural intervention.

The Labour-led restorative justice thinking recognised that a truly
democratic society must include the voices of those most affected by
its policies. Restoring, rather than removing, voting rights aligns
with this vision

--
Blair Anderson
Social Ecologist 'at large'
http://facebook.com/mildgreens
http://mildgreens.blogspot.com
http://efsdp.org
Christchurch, New Zealand
ph nz (643) 389 4065 nz cell 021 823647