At the mountain regional Students for Sensible Drug Policy (SSDP) conference this past week, a presentation was given by Colorado Criminal Justice Reform Coalition (CCJRC). CCJRC is a policy advocacy organization whose mission for the past 17 years, has been to “reverse or end the trend of mass incarceration in the state of Colorado” (Cooper). They focus on drug policy reform, reentry reform, and sentencing reform as the three primary policy areas. Cooper told the audience, “drug policy reform is imperative to criminal justice reform. The drug war has had significant devastating impacts to people of color” (Cooper). Following this point, he also stated that a majority of the organization's members, including eight hundred people, are currently behind bars. These members help the organization by informing voters of their rights, advocating for policy change, helping the group grow in numbers.

In 2013, CCJRC passed Senate Bill 250 which took low-level drug possession crimes from felonies to misdemeanors. Since this bill has passed, the prison admissions rates have been lowered significantly. This is just one example of a policy reform that CCJRC has successfully accomplished for the state of Colorado.

One point Cooper made that really stuck out was that “crime rates have zero correlation with prison populations.” Instead, the prison population has to do with the number of people going in and how long they stay there. It is false to say that crime is increasing because jail population is increasing. It could mean instead, that our country is cracking down on crime, spending larger amounts of taxpayer money to incarcerate people, especially those who possess or use drugs.

The organization is proactive about helping out those behind bars by making personal connections and helping the inmates know and use their American rights. They have members go into jails, have conversations with the inmates, and they help the locked up individuals figure out if they are eligible to vote. Those who are eligible and willing will then register to vote and can partake in the elections. This program is paramount because it is helping individual citizens realize their rights and act on those rights to potentially influence the outcome of the election. It is something that empowers those who may feel powerless from behind bars. Many of these people behind bars are locked up for low-level nonviolent crimes that should arguably be released due to unjust policy such as drug possession laws.

CCJRC taught us that many times, there is a misconception that felons cannot vote. However, this isn’t the case in most situations around the country. Iowa, Kentucky, and Florida are the only three states that practice full disenfranchisement meaning if you are convicted of a felony crime, you can not vote in this state. However, you can move to another state and be eligible to vote there. Your criminal background will not follow you to the extent of affecting your voting rights. In the other 47 states, the laws vary, but many practice suspension of voting rights until the payment of assessments are paid in full by the convicted person. In the status quo, most people involved in the criminal justice system behind bars, on probation, on parole, in community corrections facilities, are eligible to vote.