Our History

While incarcerated in the Louisiana State Penitentiary at Angola, Norris Henderson and a group of civic-minded men dreamed of liberation for themselves and their fellow incarcerated people. Norris' affirmation was “forget your conditions and change your circumstances," and they did just that, founding the Angola Special Civics Project (ASCP) in 1987. As a group, they began strategizing, organizing, and fighting for freedom and structural change. In 2003, as ASCP President, Norris won his freedom and continued advocating for liberation and empowerment outside the prison walls. In 2004, Voice of the Ex-Offender (VOTE) was born to continue the fight for liberation of people oppressed by criminalization and racism. Realizing that part of our work is to change the way we talk about and refer to our people, in 2016, Voice of the Ex-Offender officially, and permanently, became Voice of the Experienced.

Today, VOTE is a grassroots 501(c)(3) nonprofit organization, with a 501(c)(4) arm, Voters Organized to Educate. VOTE has a staff of more than 20 people across three chapters—New Orleans, Baton Rouge, and Lafayette. With Louisiana’s emergence in the criminal justice reform movement, VOTE is recognized as the catalyst, mentor, strategist, and hub of an entire ecosystem in the deep south, where many people said criminal justice reform was a lost cause.