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UCLA-led team finds 2 million convicted felons have the right to vote, but they might not know it 

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UCLA-led team finds 2 million convicted felons have the right to vote, but they might not know it 

A study led by researchers at UCLA has found that due to voting eligibility expansions, more than 2 million people with felony convictions are now able to vote. 

Now, they are asking a critical question: Has anyone told them? 

According to data from The Sentencing Project analyzed by the coalition of researchers from UCLA, UC Irvine, UC Berkeley School of Law and Stanford University, 26 states and Washington, D.C., have expanded voting rights for those convicted of a felony since 1997. 

And while a felony conviction can mean the loss of voting rights, in many states, a person regains the right to vote after incarceration or supervision, the study said. 

“The system of mass incarceration and current and historical legacies of voter suppression have excluded millions of people,” said UCLA sociology professor Naomi Sugie. “The laws have changed, and people need to know that. This is about righting a wrong.” 

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Sugie and other researchers analyzed voting obstacles during the November 2022 election and released their findings in this month’s issue of the Punishment and Society journal. Their research – conducted through interviews, focus groups and text message conversations among a multi-state sample – found that several factors pose an “access to justice issue among system-impacted people,” including a lack of understanding about the voting process, confusion about eligibility and perceived risks of voting while ineligible. 

Convicted felon Yraida Guanipa reacts after she registered to vote at the Miami-Dade County Elections Department office in Miami, Florida, on Friday, Jan. 8, 2019. Some 1.4 million people in Florida began registering to vote the following Tuesday after the state’s electorate ended a measure banning suffrage for people with felony convictions. (Rhona Wise/AFP via Getty Images)

One individual who was interviewed, a 40-year-old Hispanic woman from Texas named Delia, said that she felt the process was “very confusing on purpose.” 

“Every unit I went to, the narrative is, ‘You got a felony now, you’re never going to get a job, and you’re never going to vote,’ and so you believe that,” she told researchers. 

Another interviewee, a 41-year-old Chicano man from California named Julian, said that a lot of the times, when people come home from prison, they simply “don’t know about none of this crap” and are dissuaded from learning more for many reasons, like not being informed of their rights upon release, fear of harsh criminal penalties for simply trying to vote and overall government distrust. 

“They are just trying to be off parole, not being harassed based on that,” he said. “So, voting is just another foreign language to them, and there’s nobody educating them.” 

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To help get voters to the ballot box, researchers found that community organizations – such as reentry and support networks, legal service providers, religious groups and others that work with impacted communities – made more of an effort on “cleaning up misconceptions” around voter eligibility through direct outreach. 

Researchers also concluded that limiting access to voting “limits access to justice.” 

“Disenfranchisement is a justice and equity issue…it especially takes a toll on communities disproportionately impacted by the criminal legal system, like those that are poor, racial and ethnic minorities,” Sugie said. “It’s important that our political systems make sure that their voices and concerns are heard, too.” 

Sugie and her fellow researchers are continuing to monitor voting barriers during this year’s election alongside Voter Outreach in Communities Experiencing System-Involvement (Project VOICES), which has engaged in large-scale community outreach programs.

California residents looking to check their voter eligibility can do so by visiting the California Voter Status information page.

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More information can be found on the National Association of Secretaries of State Can I Vote? webpage.

Los Angeles, Ca

LADWP begins long-term repairs after West Hollywood water main rupture

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LADWP begins long-term repairs after West Hollywood water main rupture

Crews worked overnight on what is expected to be a long-term effort to clean up and repair a broken water main that caused extensive damage in West Hollywood on Thursday.

Yellow tape remained in place Friday morning, blocking streets around Sunset Boulevard and Holloway Drive as crews continued pumping water out of the century-old trunk line.

Asphalt and soil were also being removed so crews could get a better look at the damaged 36-inch trunk line, a major feeder pipe serving the area.

  • Aerial view of flooded streets in West Hollywood.
  • A sinkhole opened up on a sidewalk in West Hollywood following a water main break
  • Aerial view of flooded Metro buses.
  • Aerial view of flooded streets in West Hollywood.
  • Water floods out of an apartment in West Hollywood
  • A broken water main floods a parking garage in West Hollywood
  • Rushing floodwaters pushes parked cars together on a flooded West Hollywood street after a water main break.
  • Rushing floodwaters pushes parked cars together on a flooded West Hollywood street after a water main break.
  • Residents stand with luggage and a dog at the entrance to an apartment parking garage as floodwaters from a water main break rush through a West Hollywood street.
  • Rushing floodwaters pushes parked cars together on a flooded West Hollywood street after a water main break.
  • Rushing floodwaters pushes parked cars together on a flooded West Hollywood street after a water main break.
  • Rushing floodwaters pushes parked cars together on a flooded West Hollywood street after a water main break.
  • A broken water main floods the streets of West Hollywood

“First and foremost is our crews’ safety,” a Los Angeles Department of Water and Power spokesperson said Thursday. “When we excavate, we are going to have to make sure the area is safe before we send crews in to proceed and start the actual repairs on the pipe.”

The water main ruptured around 3 a.m. Thursday, sending thousands of gallons of water rushing through West Hollywood streets, flooding dozens of garages and pushing parked cars into one another.

A Metro bus yard was also flooded, leaving several buses partially submerged.

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The force of the water washed away dirt and gravel supporting the roadway, creating a massive sinkhole on Sunset Boulevard and a smaller one near Palm Avenue, where two people fell in.

“I’m astounded by the massive sinkhole that has just opened up before our eyes,” KTLA’s Annie Rose Ramos reported Thursday from Palm Avenue.

The two men appeared to be uninjured.

As for the larger trunk line that burst beneath Sunset Boulevard, KTLA’s Carlos Herrera reported it was scheduled for replacement in 2031.

LADWP officials now hope to establish a repair timeline after getting a closer look at the damage Friday. For now, the intersection is expected to remain closed for anywhere from several days to several weeks.

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The cause of the rupture remains under investigation.

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Arrest made in deadly shooting at 4th of July gathering in Compton; search for 2nd suspect continues

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Arrest made in deadly shooting at 4th of July gathering in Compton; search for 2nd suspect continues

Los Angeles County Sheriff Robert Luna gave an update Thursday on several shootings over the Fourth of July weekend that left three people dead and several others injured.

Police arrested Antoine Jones, a 50-year-old man from the Los Angeles area, who they believe is responsible for the murder of a 19-year-old woman and the attempted murder of two additional surviving female victims who were attending a large community block party in Compton.

On July 4 at approximately 11:40 p.m., deputies from the Compton station responded to an apartment complex on the 700 block of West Laurel Street following reports of multiple people being shot.

Meah Bordenave-Jenkins, a 19-year-old nursing student at the University of Nevada, Las Vegas, was killed when gunfire broke out at the party.

Meah Bordenave-Jenkins and Eric Washington are pictured in a Los Angeles Sheriff’s Department bulletin. (LASD)

Deputies located Bordenave-Jenkins and the two other women suffering from gunshot wounds outside of the apartment complex.

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“While today’s announcement represents an important step towards justice for Meah and her family, our work is very far from being over,” said LASD Sheriff Robert Luna.

The LASD is also seeking the public’s help in identifying those responsible for the murder of Eric Washington, 37, a beloved community activist and former government staffer, and the attempted murder of another surviving man injured that same night at the same party.

Washington was reportedly killed while trying to deescalate a conflict at the party, his family said. Deputies found victim Washington suffering from a gunshot wound inside the complex.

Investigators later learned that another man had also been shot at some point during the incident.

Bordenave-Jenkins and Washington both died from their injuries. The remaining victims, two women and a man, sustained non-life-threatening injuries and have been released from the hospital. They have not been identified by police.

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Detectives determined the two shootings happened moments apart at the party but appear to be separate and unrelated.

  • 2 dead, 3 injured at Compton July 4 celebration
  • Compton fatal shooting
  • Compton fatal shooting
  • Compton fatal shooting
  • Compton fatal shooting
  • Compton fatal shooting
  • Compton fatal shooting
  • Compton fatal shooting
  • Compton fatal shooting
  • 2 dead, 3 injured at Compton July 4 celebration
  • 2 dead, 3 injured at Compton July 4 celebration
  • 2 dead, 3 injured at Compton July 4 celebration
  • 2 dead, 3 injured at Compton July 4 celebration
  • 2 dead, 3 injured at Compton July 4 celebration
  • 2 dead, 3 injured at Compton July 4 celebration
  • 2 dead, 3 injured at Compton July 4 celebration

Detectives identified Jones as the suspect responsible for Bordenave-Jenkins’ death and the attempted murder of the two surviving women. Authorities located Jones on July 14 in Los Angeles and took him into custody.

The LASD is still searching for the suspect or suspects responsible for the murder of Washington and the attempted murder of the surviving male victim.

“Although today’s arrest is significant, this investigation remains extremely active,” Luna said.

“There were hundreds of people at this gathering,” Luna said. “Somebody knows, somebody saw or somebody heard what happened.”

The LASD also announced they’re searching for a suspect in a separate shooting at a different Fourth of July gathering that occurred in the early morning of July 5.

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At approximately 12:10 a.m., Compton deputies responded to the 2100 block of North Grandee Avenue, where they located a 30-year-old victim, Thaddeus Clark, and a second victim suffering from gunshot wounds at the gathering.

Clark, a father of three, did not survive his injuries, Luna said.

The LASD is urging anyone with information about Clark’s murder and the attempted murder of the surviving victim to contact the LASD Homicide Bureau.

Although these shooting incidents occurred at gatherings less than an hour apart, investigators found no evidence that the two were connected, Luna said.

Luna also announced three suspects have been arrested in connection with a shooting in East L.A. on July 5. It happened as crowds crossed the intersection near Whittier Boulevard and Leonard Avenue during a World Cup match.

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Four people were hit by gunfire, including two men, one woman and a boy. None of the injuries were life-threatening.

The sheriff said the alleged shooter, a 15-year-old known gang member, was arrested. Two female suspects, ages 21 and 38, have been arrested in the Lancaster and Palmdale areas for their alleged roles in luring the primary victim to the location and assisting the shooting suspect in evading arrest.

They’re all facing four counts of attempted murder.

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Water main break floods West Hollywood streets, traps cars

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Water main break floods West Hollywood streets, traps cars

A broken water main sent water gushing from an apartment building and turned nearby streets into rivers in West Hollywood early Thursday morning. The break was reported around 3 a.m. near Holloway Drive and Sunset Boulevard. “It’s a rupture of one of the significant mains that goes through here. West Hollywood, as it turns out, […]

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