SANDERSVILLE — When George Simmons was released after serving 10 years in federal prison for conspiracy to sell cocaine, one of the first things he wanted to do was restore his right to vote.
According to Georgia law, once someone is convicted of a felony, they lose their right to vote until they’ve completed their sentence.
Simmons, who was 33 when he began serving his sentence in 1995, told a group of Washington County inmates going through a prison diversion program that it was when he went through a drug program in federal prison that he began to think about how he wanted to live his life when his sentence was up.
“The lady that was doing the drug program, she told me, ‘It don’t seem like you belong in this environment here,’ ” Simmons, now 62, told the group of seven young men last month. “Because I wanted good out of my life, I started asking her questions.”
Credit: Miguel Martinez
Credit: Miguel Martinez
Within a week of his release, Simmons said he was at his county’s voter registration office seeking restoration of his rights. When he told the employees there his story and that he wanted to re-register to vote, a woman grabbed him some paperwork and asked him to sign.
“Just like that,” Simmons said. “So when I got the voting rights back, I wanted the rest of my rights.”
The beginning of Simmons’ story is not unlike thousands of others in Washington County who’ve been arrested and convicted on felony charges. But many, including some of those going through the county’s diversion program, don’t know that once they serve all of their time, their voting rights are automatically restored — they just have to register.
Washington County runs a version of the state’s Residential Substance Use Treatment program, where those convicted develop life skills, get certified in a variety of trades and, if necessary, earn their GED or diploma. The goal is to help those inmates learn skills that could keep them from offending again.
Since his release in 2005, Simmons says he’s held a job as a welder, kept himself out of legal trouble, stayed away from drugs and voted in as many elections as he could.
“In order to make a difference and change things, it starts at the polls first,” he said, adding that he also voted semi-regularly before he was convicted. “If things go bad and I didn’t vote, I shot my own self in the foot.”
That’s how Simmons, who now works as a supervisor for a railcar repair company in Tennille, said he feels heading into the November presidential election between Democratic President Joe Biden and former President Donald Trump, a Republican.
“I really hope Trump doesn’t win again,” said Simmons, who is Black. “Some of the statements he’s made in the past about Black people, they’ve been pretty racist, when Black people are the ones who built this country. We have already paid a tremendous price.”
Credit: Miguel Martinez
Credit: Miguel Martinez
The men going through the Washington County Jail’s diversion program were less willing to say who they would vote for in November if they are legally able, but they all said they hope their rights are restored to allow them to vote.
“Even though my mother and other friends voted, I used to always wonder if my vote even counted,” said Eugene Scott, 24.
“I never registered before, but once I can register, I want to know what it feels like to walk into a poll and the people there are not looking at you like you’re a menace,” Scott said. “I just want to know what it would feel like to be looked at as a (productive) part of society.”
Adam Cooper, 30, said it’s not just the presidential election that makes him want to take a more active role in the process. The outcome of local races are sometimes more important.
“Our sheriff allows this program,” he said. “So, during an election, he might be for the program and another candidate may be against it.”
Cooper and the other men in the six-month program, all scheduled to graduate July 12, said they feel like they are proof the program works.
“That (goes) to anything, including the presidential election, when candidates are talking about prison reform,” Cooper said. “I’m sure that there’s a lot of people that hear prison reform and helping inmates, so they’re against it. But that’s one reason that I want to have my voice heard. Because I’ve lived a different life, and I see things a different way.”
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