Charlotte Law Firm Launches To Restore Voting Rights for Felons

The Second Chance Federation opened Friday in Charlotte. It's a nonprofit law firm. The group will assist people convicted of felonies who want their voting rights back, need driver's licenses returned, or hope to lower fines. The organization intends to advocate for policy shifts across state lines and throughout the nation.

Daryl Atkinson will lead the new firm as executive director. He's practiced law in North Carolina for 18 years. In the mid-1990s, he spent nearly four years locked up in an Alabama Department of Corrections facility.

"There are over 19 million people in this country who have been convicted of felonies. If that were a state, it would be our fifth-largest state in the country," Atkinson said, according to WCNC. "Imagine if those folks were full participants in our democracy and had the ability to engage and weigh in on public policies that impact their lives."

North Carolina law makes people with felony convictions finish their sentence, probation, or parole before regaining voting rights. They must also pay all associated fines.

Atkinson argues those fines shouldn't block voting access. He wants policy changes that would allow people on community supervision to cast ballots.

"If the court has deemed them and society has deemed them suitable enough to be here, living amongst us, they should have a civic voice," he said.

Atkinson said he wants to take the fight nationwide. He called this political moment a critical one for voting rights.

"Unfortunately, these attacks on voter rights are not new," he said. "We believe if we can alleviate those barriers, those folks can be more productive citizens, and we can have a healthier democracy."

The firm will work straight with formerly incarcerated people to address barriers they face. Services include legal assistance with fines, license recovery, and voting restoration cases.