Voters reject nation’s cruel, wasteful criminal justice system

On Election Day, Americans in red and blue states voted for criminal justice reform, including overturning long-standing Jim Crow-era laws.

Floridians restored voting rights to 1.4 million people living with felony convictions (about 70,000 were excluded and still need their rights restored). Louisianians overturned a law allowing split jury convictions. Washingtonians made it easier to hold police accountable for deadly force. Michiganders legalized marijuana. And pro-reform district attorneys won in Dallas, Birmingham, St. Louis and Boston.

The 2018 midterms should be remembered as the day voters rejected the nation’s cruel and wasteful criminal justice system.

– Udi Ofer, Deputy National Political Director, ACLU