
Mitchell D. Brown
Host: Southern Coalition for Social Justice
Sponsor: The Ottinger Family Foundation
Dana’s Fellowship used outreach, advocacy, and litigation to protect the right to vote for eligible voters in pretrial detention and ensure they have meaningful access to the ballot.
2.3 million people are incarcerated every day in the United States, one-third of whom are incarcerated in jails in pretrial detention or for misdemeanor convictions. Most of these 750,000 people retain their right to vote because they have not been convicted of a disqualifying felony. Because these voters are in jail, though, they cannot vote in person, and accessing election information and absentee ballots can be difficult or impossible. Dana ensured these voters had real access to the ballot box and could exercise their constitutional right to vote.
Dana’s experience while running a canvassing program brought into stark relief how racism and poverty operate in complex, insidious ways to restrict access to the ballot box and disempower those who have been historically marginalized. It showed her who she wanted to work for; she wanted her canvassers to be her clients.
During the two-year Fellowship, Dana:
Dana will be joining the Department of Justice in the Voting Section of the Civil Rights Division. In that role, Dana will continue to litigate cases to vindicate the rights of historically marginalized voters.
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