Full Citizens Coalition, Connecticut

Led by peoplewho lived it.

We are formerly incarcerated people organizing across Connecticut. We won the vote back for people on parole, and we keep pushing for fair sentencing, ballots for every eligible voter behind bars, and safer neighborhoods.

Take action Understand the work

Collective Power. Connecticut, built from raised squares like the boxes on a ballot. Blue squares mark the four cities where we organize. An artwork, not a data map. Move your pointer across it.

FCC by the numbers

4,000

Votes restored

People on parole who got their vote back when Public Act 21-2 took effect.

About 4,000. Source: Brennan Center
2021

The year we won

Public Act 21-2 was signed in June. People on parole could vote from July 1, 2021.

Source: CT Department of Correction
4

Cities

Hartford, Waterbury, Bridgeport and New Haven.

Where we organize
8+

Years organizing

Since April 2018, when people directly impacted by the system founded FCC in Hartford.

Our story

Current priority

Updated October 19, 2026

SB 503

A real chance at parole for people sentenced young.

Connecticut already lets some people who were very young when they committed a crime be considered for parole. SB 503 would extend that to people who were 25 or younger. It passed the Senate in April 2026. The House debated it on the last night of session but never voted, so it did not become law.

What happens next: the bill has to be filed again when the 2027 session opens in January. Letters from Connecticut voters now decide whether it comes back stronger.

Write your legislators Campaign history

Judiciary Committee approvedMar 24
Appropriations Committee approvedApr 24
Passed the SenateApr 28
House debate, no voteMay 5
Refile in the 2027 sessionNext

Status: Not law. Passed the Senate, no House vote.
Sources: CGA bill history, CT Mirror, May 5, 2026

Who leads

Directly impacted, by design

Poverty should not be a punitive strike against your active citizenship and access to your ballot.

James Jeter Jr.Co-founder and executive director, quoted by the Secretary of the State, Sept. 26, 2024

A large group of FCC members and supporters posing together outdoors — FCC members and supporters at a community day.

James Jeter Jr.
Co-founder and executive director
Came home in 2016 after 19 and a half years. Led Unlock the Vote.
Kennard Ray
Co-founder
Co-led Unlock the Vote and Connecticut's Fair Chance Act fight.
Tommy Battle
Lead organizer
Runs the Credible Messenger Mentor Program in Hartford.
Ernest Francis
Paralegal, writer and advocate
Served 32 years before his sentence was commuted.

Read the full team stories

The campaigns

Status checked October 19, 2026

A woman holds an Unlock the Vote guide outside New Haven City Hall

Open, bill stalled in 2025

Ballots for eligible voters in jail

Why it matters: People held before trial, or for a misdemeanor, keep the right to vote. Most never get a ballot. The Department of Correction counted about 3,800 unsentenced people in custody in 2025.
Status: HB 7229 cleared committee in March 2025 and reached the House calendar, then stopped. 2026 action not confirmed.
What we're doing: Registering voters inside facilities with the Secretary of the State since September 2024.
What you can do: Volunteer for registration days.

Sources: CT Mirror, May 8, 2025, Secretary of the State

Volunteer

Two women registering voters with a clipboard at a park event

Organizing, no bill moving

The vote for everyone in prison

Why it matters: About 5,400 people in Connecticut prisons cannot vote. Maine, Vermont, Washington, D.C. and Puerto Rico let people vote from prison.
Status: Study bills were filed in 2023 (HB 5702) and 2025 (HB 6749). Neither became law.
What we're doing: Building the coalition and the testimony for a full bill.
What you can do: Tell your legislators you support it.

Sources: The Sentencing Project, 2025, primer

Find your legislators

Supporters in matching photo t-shirts gather on courthouse steps

Active case

Free Maleek Jones

Why it matters: Maleek Jones was convicted in New Haven in 1995 and sentenced to 65 years. His supporters say the evidence shows he is innocent.
Status: His supporters are working to free him.
What we're doing: Backing his legal fight and telling his story.
What you can do: Read the evidence and share it.

Source: FCC and FreeMaleek.com

See the case

On the record

What has already changed

June 23, 2021
People on parole can vote again
Public Act 21-2 restored voting rights to roughly 4,000 people on parole, after FCC's Unlock the Vote campaign in four cities.
CT Department of Correction, Brennan Center
Sept. 26, 2024
Registration inside eight facilities
The Secretary of the State and the Department of Correction began voter registration in eight facilities, with FCC's formerly incarcerated volunteers.
Secretary of the State
April 28, 2026
SB 503 passes the Senate
The parole eligibility bill cleared the Senate. It still needs a House vote.
CT Mirror

Where we organize

Four cities since Unlock the Vote

On the ground

Photos from FCC events

Two men, one in an FCC hoodie, on a downtown sidewalk beside an outreach table — Outreach on a downtown sidewalk.

Men standing in front of a Saving Our Youth, Stop the Violence banner — Saving Our Youth, Waterbury.

Two women at a table covered in Unlock the Vote guides — Unlock the Vote guides.

An organizer presents a workshop in a wood-paneled hall — A Cultural Abolition workshop.

A canvasser with a clipboard walks with a woman past a building with a Vote sign — Walking voters to the polls.

Programs

Enrollment set by FCC staff

FCC programs: who each is for, what it is, enrollment, and next step
Program	Who it's for	What it is	Enrollment	Next step
Credible Messenger Mentor Program	Hartford residents 25 and older with lived experience in the criminal legal system	Training to mentor people at highest risk of gun violence, with CT State Community College and the City of Hartford	Ask about the next cohort	Email us
Leadership Academy	Graduates of the Credible Messenger program	Advanced training with Quinnipiac University on systems change and violence intervention	Ask about the next cohort	Learn more
Cultural Abolition workshops	Colleges, community groups, civic events	Workshops on the habits and stories that keep mass incarceration in place	Booking requests	Book a workshop
Civic Allyship Initiative	Yale students and directly impacted organizers	Civic education and voter engagement at Dwight Hall, Yale	Ask us	Learn more

Program details as described by FCC.

Stories and press

All stories

FCC members in blue shirts inside the Connecticut State Capitol — FCC members at the State Capitol. Photo: FCC.

PressMay 5, 2026CT Mirror

CT debate on parole eligibility bill ends without a vote

House members debated SB 503 on the last night of session after pressure from the Black and Puerto Rican Caucus, but never voted on it.

PressApr 28, 2026CT Mirror
Senate votes to expand parole eligibility
ProfileOct 29, 2025Dwight Hall at Yale
Full Citizens Coalition's journey to rebuilding community through civic empowerment
PressMay 8, 2025CT Mirror
Making it easier for incarcerated people to vote
AnnouncementSept. 26, 2024Secretary of the State
Registration inside correctional facilities

VideoCredible Messenger information session

Captions: YouTube automatic captions, if available. Watch on YouTube

Can I vote?

Connecticut law as of October 2026

Most people with a record in Connecticut can vote.

Right now, I am

Your answer shows up here.

Pick the line that fits you. You'll see where you stand and how to check your registration.

General information, not legal advice. Sources: CT Department of Correction, The Sentencing Project

Take action

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