On the day of the 2000 general election, William Remmers
Jr. was being held at the O'ahu Community Correctional Center awaiting
trial on a felony drunken driving charge. He had signed up to vote, but
when he asked for a ballot, the prison staff told him they didn't have
one and to file a grievance. Remmers did more than that. With the
encouragement of late U.S. Rep. Patsy Mink and with help of the
American Civil Liberties Union of Hawai'i, Remmers filed a lawsuit in
2002 alleging violations of the constitutional right to vote for him
and at least 10 other inmates. Recently, the ACLU and the state reached
an out-of-court settlement that would pay up to $5,000 to Remmers and
other OCCC pretrial detainees who were denied a chance to vote in the
2000 elections.The settlement also calls for state prison officials to
ensure that people in jail awaiting trial will be able to vote in
future elections. The settlement must be approved by a federal judge. [more]
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