128,000 people in Nashville have criminal records, because of employer biases and state laws, potentially preventing them from even being considered for good-paying employment opportunities. Moreover, thousands of Nashvillians are denied the fundamental right to vote because of regressive state laws that target people with felony convictions.  

Erica supports legislation that provides paths to recourse for people with criminal records. This includes automatically expunging or sealing juvenile records, so young people have a fair chance to turn around their lives; allowing some categories of formerly incarcerated people to petition a court to seal their records, and expunging the records of arrests that did not lead to formal charges.

She believes that formerly incarcerated individuals that have reentered society should have their voting rights restored upon the completion of incarceration sentences, parole, and probation. Erica strongly supports legislation restoring voting rights to individuals with felony records. She will explore and take advantage of every opportunity to utilize administrative solutions to encourage the State of Tennessee to restore voting rights.

Erica sponsored Ban the Box legislation encouraging the Metropolitan Government of Nashville and Davidson County to adopt “fair chance” policies, which direct employers to delay criminal record inquiries and individually assess job applicants based on their qualifications.