To many of the inmates at Maine Correctional Center in Windham, the details and debates of the 2008 election seem like they are happening in another world.

But to Michael Gagne, now two years into an over four-year sentence for numerous counts of burglary, the election provides him a chance to be an average citizen, to care about the things that impact himself and others and to let his opinion be heard.

“It’s important,” said Gagne, 31, of Sanford. “It’s the only voice I’ve got.”

It is a voice that few prisoners in this country have. Maine and Vermont are the only two states to allow inmates the right to vote while incarcerated for a felony, and prisoners in Windham said exercising this right makes them feel more like citizens, keeps them connected to their community and eases their transition back into the world once they are released.

Not everybody shares their enthusiasm, however. In 48 other states and the District of Columbia, inmates cannot vote, according to the Sentencing Project, a national nonprofit organization engaged in research and advocacy on criminal justice policy issues.

In 35 of those states, felons on probation and parole are not allowed to cast a ballot, and in 10 states a felony conviction can mean a lifetime ban from the voting booth.

There are 2,200 adults incarcerated in Maine’s seven correctional centers and 600-700 inmates in the jails. Most state correctional center inmates are serving time for felony charges, while most jail inmates were convicted of misdemeanors.

Right or privilege?

Legislation stripping prisoners of the right to vote has surfaced regularly in the Maine Legislature, where it is typically voted down by a small margin. In 2003, the Maine House defeated 79-62 and the Maine Senate 18-16 a resolution proposing an amendment to revoke the voting rights of prisoners.

Rep. Susan Austin, R-Gray, a co-sponsor of the resolution, said stripping prisoners of the right to vote awards citizens who follow the law and punishes those who step out of bounds.

“People who work diligently, making sound personal choices sometimes don’t receive the credit deserved while those whose behavior is not healthy for themselves, their families and our communities goes unchecked,” she said. “If you break laws and they are serious enough to do jail time, your privilege to help shape and guide public policy through voting should be withheld until such time as you have fulfilled your debt to society and are out of jail.”

Mary Andrews, who sponsored the bill as a senator from York in the 121st Legislature, brings a personal perspective to the debate: her husband, a member of the Maine State Police, was murdered on duty.

“He lost his voting privileges. I don’t think convicted murderers or child molesters should have that privilege. I think that there are consequences for your actions,” said Andrews, who added that the length for which a person loses their right to vote should depend on the severity of the crime.

A Closer Look

• 48 states and the District of Columbia prohibit inmates from voting while incarcerated for a felony offense. Only Maine and Vermont permit inmates to vote.

• 35 states prohibit felons from voting while they are on parole and 30 of these states exclude felony probationers as well.

• Two states deny the right to vote to all ex-offenders who have completed their sentences. Eight others disenfranchise certain categories of ex-offenders and/or permit application for restoration of rights for specified offenses after a waiting period.

• An estimated 5.3 million Americans, or one in 41 adults, have currently or permanently lost their voting rights as a result of a felony conviction.

Source: The Sentencing Project, 2008.

Roll call

Gagne, behind the walls at the Maine Correctional Center, argues that participating in elections allows the prison population to engage in something useful and meaningful. He enjoys educating fellow inmates and trying to help them understand the differences between Democrats and Republicans.

According to Norene Dunphy, community programs coordinator at the prison, 50-60 inmates or more voted by absentee ballot this fall, out of a total of more than 600 male and female inmates currently in the system. Approximately 40 inmates were signed up to vote before Election Day, and that was before a voter registration drive held at the prison Tuesday.

The Maine branch of the National Association for the Advancement of Colored People organized the voter registration drive and registered 100 inmates, according to branch president Rachel Talbot Ross.

In the past year Ross said the NAACP has helped 400 inmates register to vote at the Maine Correctional Center, the Maine State Prison in Warren and the Cumberland County Jail in Portland.

“If we want functioning members of our society coming out of prisons, we have to take that time to rehabilitate them” Ross said, referring to voting as part of rehabilitation. “We’re just there to make sure the inmates know they have the right to vote.”

The Maine Civil Liberties Union worked with the NAACP on the voter registration drive at the Maine State Prison in Warren earlier this year.

“It’s an important right we want to preserve,” said legal director of the Maine Civil Liberties Union Zachary Heiden. “It’s the foundation of our democracy.”

Francine Bowden, who runs the library at the Correctional Center, said she started posting information about voting 6-9 months before the election, given that the process of voting by absentee ballot can take some time.

Bowden values her right to vote and wants to make sure inmates know they have this right as well. Quite a few prisoners saw the signs posted by Bowden and took her up on the offer. When those prisoners do eventually get out, Bowden said, they will at least be in the habit of taking part in one duty of citizenship.

“They’ve at least had this, because they will be going back to society,” she said.

Part of the community

Ryan Gauthier, who will be released just after the election following a 10-month sentence for sexual assault of a minor, said that besides voting, he didn’t feel like he had much of a voice or an impact on the outside world while in prison.

“Ultimately you’re just here to do your time,” said Gauthier, 29, of Chelsea.

Heiden said allowing inmates to vote is one way to decrease the rate of recidivism by strengthening community ties.

“For prisoners especially, and former prisoners, it’s one of the ways we can establish strong ties between people who have been in prison and their community,” Heiden said.

While some prisoners look at voting as a way to exercise their own, limited rights, others look hard at the issues, and how they will impact themselves and their families.

Robert Graham 24, of Milbridge, who has served 19 months of a 25-month sentence for theft, said when he votes he is looking ahead to his own future outside of prison. Mostly he is concerned about the economy and the high cost of gas.

Of many issues important to him, Alan Cooper, 26, of Windham, said the war, abortion and the economy are three of the most important. He supports the beverage tax veto and the proposed Oxford County casino. As a house painter, Cooper said he worries about the impact of the economy on his clients.

Gauthier said he would like to hear more about what candidates think about developing resources for the rehabilitation of inmates. On the outside Gauthier said he had several therapists and doctors, but in prison he finds those services lacking.

Informed electorate

While the inmates can not access the Internet, they are able to get books, magazines and watch TV. The inmates vote using absentee ballots from their last place of residence, and are able to keep up on news and events by subscribing to their local newspapers. Others rely on family members to keep them informed and up to date.

“I’m always talking to my dad back home,” said Graham. “He always lets me know what’s going on.”

Cooper said he educates himself on the issues by reading, adding that he is usually working through a novel and a book about politics at the same time and is currently reading “The Prince,” by NicolA?2 Machiavelli.

Cooper, who has served six months of a nine month sentence for assault, set up a rack of politically-themed books in the prison library, where he works five days a week. The material runs the gamut, from biographies on current candidates to political themed books like those by Machiavelli and Mao Zedong.

The wide variety of books and magazines gives the prisoners an advantage over residents outside of prison who are too busy to do research, said Graham.

“You’re not just listening to everything on TV,” he said. “You get a little more about their education and things like that.”

In the end, his voting right is about having a literal vote in the society of which they will someday be a full member, Gagne said. While they are taking a short break from regular citizenship while behind these walls, voting keeps them connected to that world.

“I’m going to leave here and I’m going to pay taxes. I’m going to be out in the community,” said Gagne. “I should get my say just like you guys.”

Maine Correctional Center inmates Robert Graham, left, Ryan Gauthier and Michael Gagne are among the inmates who voted by absentee ballot this year. Maine and Vermont are the only states to allow felons to vote while incarcerated.Maine Correctional Center inmate Alan Cooper, also a Windham resident, has set up a rack of politically-themed books in the prison library, where he works.