ACLU of Delaware Re-launches Vote Smart Justice

WILMINGTON, Del. — The American Civil Liberties Union of Delaware and the Delaware Campaign for Smart Justice have partnered with the community-led Game Changers to relaunch the Vote Smart Justice Delaware campaign for the 2020 election. The campaign, initially introduced in 2018 with a focus on prosecutorial reform, has announced a focus on police reform, especially in Wilmington, for this year’s effort. A candidate survey with responses, the full police reform platform, and more information can all be found on the campaign’s website: VoteSmartJusticeDE.org.

“Police reform is one of the most important issues facing voters in the 2020 elections,” said Dubard McGriff, Smart Justice Organizer, ACLU of Delaware. “Reforming the way police departments operate starts at the ballot. It begins by electing reform-minded local officials. In Wilmington, members of city council and the mayor hold great power over the way a city’s police department operates. That’s why we sent a candidate questionnaire to all Wilmington city candidates running in the State Primary. We want to know where they stand on this issue, and we want to make sure the public knows, too.”

The Vote Smart Justice police reform platform includes:

• Collecting and making public police data,
• Implementing body-worn cameras,
• Establishing independent community review boards,
• Discontinuing Operation Safe Streets and the Governor’s Task Force,
• Discontinuing “no-knock” or “quick-knock” warrants, and
• Discontinuing civil asset forfeiture.

The VoteSmartJusticeDE.org website will also feature important election information, including information on how voters with past felony convictions can cast a ballot. There will also be a call to action urging voters to take the #VoteSmartJustice pledge.

This campaign is funded by the ACLU of Delaware Action Fund.

This statement can be found online here: https://www.aclu-de.org/en/news/aclu-delaware-re-launches-vote-smart-justice-campaign