Founded in 2020, the West Virginia Family of Convicted People (WVFCP) is an organization comprised of formerly incarcerated people and their loved ones that participate in an effort to contact tens of thousands of disenfranchised West Virginians to help them understand their rights as voters.

WVFCP was created to identify, support and lift the voices of those who have been directly affected by our brutal system of mass incarceration so that they can lead the movement to dismantle it.

Any successful criminal legal system should focus on rehabilitation of people convicted of crimes. But all too often, our system is focused on revenge, not on helping people to improve themselves and lead happier, more productive lives.

This system will not change until those who have been directly harmed by it can get more involved in the policy-making process. That all begins with exercising their rights as voters.

WVFCP focuses on empowering people who have served time in prison or jail who incorrectly believe they are no longer allowed to vote. 

In reality, relatively few people are barred from voting after they have served their sentence. In fact, most people in jail for a misdemeanor are allowed by law to vote while incarcerated.

With its partners at ACLU-WV and Vote Together WV, WVFCP gears up each election season by connecting with formerly incarcerated individuals and encouraging them to vote.

But election work is just one facet of WVFCP’s work. The organization also works on giving people access to opportunities upon release from jail and prison such as employment and civic education.