One goal of that forum was to energize those new voters to actually cast a ballot, according to Perry Hopkins, a Communities United field organizer. Hopkins said he witnessed the change that came with casting a ballot firsthand when he visited polling sites in the communities he had been working with. He saw "a different person coming out after having made their vote" than had gone in.

And he could relate. Hopkins, a youthful 55, voted for the first time in the primary election, too.

“When I went in there and filled out that paper, I felt completely, completely vindicated,” he said. “It was like somebody stole my bike and I got it back again and now I can ride it. That’s what it felt like.”

Over decades of run-ins with the law, Hopkins was barred from city, state, and national elections.

“Due to my past, some mistakes that I made, some bad choices that I made, I’ve been punished,” he said. “But me going in there, feeling like everybody else, knowing that I did something to participate in the process that’s going to matter, not only for my life, but in this community, was empowering. I felt like the scales are closer to being leveled again in my life as a citizen.”

Houghton also feels like voting is the latest step in her journey toward “normalcy.” After running into initial struggles finding a job, she found work at Café Lorraine through a roundtable run by Alternative Directions, a re-entry support program she worked with post-release. She’s now been at the café for several months, earning the manager’s trust to open and close. She’s in the process of completing an associate degree, with plans to pursue a bachelor's in criminal justice. She said she just got a scholarship to help pay for books and other expenses next year.

As she walked outside the red brick church where she was registered to vote, Haughton burst into smiles and laughter. She peeled off the back of her “I Voted” sticker and stuck it on her shirt. She had to get back to the café before the midday rush, but she planned to call her son during her lunch break to tell him what she’d done.

“I feel accomplished,” she said. “I am going to vote every opportunity I get. November 2016 is my next time voting.”