Proposition 50: What You Need to Know Before Nov. 4
Your vote is your power. On Election Day, Californians will decide on Proposition 50, a measure that could shape how our congressional districts are drawn for the rest of the decade.
Meet Lucinda Cross, The Black Woman Who Ensures Formerly Incarcerated People Know Their Right To Vote
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July 31, 2024
Lucinda Cross is leading the initiative to ensure formerly incarcerated individuals know their voting rights and register to vote.
Cross officially launched her nonprofit, Activate Your Life, in 2015. She helps formerly incarcerated women and youth between the ages of 18 and 24 reenter society. She noticed an alarming trend within this community: people who served time in prison didn’t know they could vote.
“I was constantly hearing, ‘I can’t vote, I’m not allowed to vote, or I have a felony,’” she tells BLACK ENTERPRISE
“Just hearing that individuals weren’t aware that serving time […] I knew I had to do something.”
According to Cross, more than 600,000 people across the United States are released from prison every year, and many are eligible to vote.
“That’s a big piece of the pie that’s missing in the electorate,” she says.
“In some states, you never lose the right, including Washington, D.C., Maine, and Vermont. In other states, your rights are restored right after you serve your time.”
She recognizes states like Alabama, Arizona, Florida, Iowa, and Kentucky are more strict about restoring voting rights for formerly incarcerated citizens, but her goal is to educate people about how to participate in the democratic process through her nonprofit.
Recent Election News
What you need to know to vote in California’s Nov. 4 special election on redistricting via Cal Matters
September 15, 2025 – All eyes are on California this fall as voters decide whether to approve Proposition 50, a partisan gerrymandering plan with significant stakes far beyond California’s borders — for control of the federal government, for President Donald Trump’s agenda and for Gov. Gavin Newsom’s national ambitions.
BWOPA State Propositions November 2024 Voter Guide
October 9, 2024 – In November, voters will determine the fate of 10 propositions — including whether to borrow a combined $20 billion for climate programs and school construction, whether to approve three amendments to the state constitution and what direction to take on crime, health care and taxes.
