Who We Are:
The NCPVR is a 508(c)(1)(A) people’s ministry that teaches and empowers the current and formerly incarcerated about the 1st and 15th Amendment. The struggle for voting rights for African Americans in the U.S., formally granted to Black men by the 15th Amendment (1870), was systematically denied through Jim Crow laws (literacy tests, poll taxes, intimidation) until the Voting Rights Act of 1965, which finally enforced these rights for all citizens, including Black women, effectively achieving full Black suffrage.
Here’s How We Change That
The Ballot or the Bars is a political philosophy of re-education for the current and formerly incarcerated so they become politically conscious and politically mature. That way when it’s time to cast a ballot, it will be cast for someone who has the good of the community at heart and is a representative of the people they intend to serve.
Our Mission:
To ensure the current and formerly incarcerated people know about their right to vote and run for political office.
Abolitionist | Activist| Advocate
Andy “Hood Candidate Williams Jr.’s- journey to began in adversity. Starting out as a high school dropout who landed in prison, Andy overcame not only the iron bars of incarceration but also the mental prison that followed. He is the founder of AWJ Ministries, a ministry dedicated to liberating individuals from mental, physical, and spiritual bondage. He serves as the Director of Litigation, Advocacy, and Strategy at For the People, LLC, a public interest law firm committed to justice.
He has twice pursued the U.S. presidency—first as a Libertarian candidate in 2020 and again as an Independent in 2024-guided by his unwavering mission to advance freedom and liberation by any means necessary.
Andy is the co-founder of the National Coalition for Prisoner Voting Rights and the Radical Republicans. In 2021, he led a groundbreaking legal challenge in the Northern District of Illinois as a Private Attorney General, confronting the Thirteenth Amendment's lingering ties to slavery.
Advocate | Leader | Social Impact Strategist
Katrina Butler is a visionary leader, justice reform advocate, and social impact strategist who transforms adversity into action. As Founder of So Far So Close, Inc., she supports women and children in crisis through trauma-informed, survivor-centered programs like Rediscover YOU.
She also leads Different Souls on One Accord, helping nonprofits build sustainable initiatives for marginalized communities. A domestic violence survivor who was once incarcerated, Katrina reclaimed her narrative and now fights for second chances, alternative sentencing, and systemic reform. With over 20 years of human relation experience, she is a Certified Trauma Support Specialist, Restorative Justice Facilitator, and advocate for justice-impacted populations. Katrina is also an author and speaker, using storytelling to raise awareness and promote policy change. Currently pursuing degrees in Criminal Justice and Sociology, she is recognized for academic excellence and spiritual grounding.
Her unwavering commitment to advocacy is deeply rooted in her spiritual beliefs. She continues to promote truth, integrity, and compassion in all she does. She believes in the power of resilience, second chances, and standing unapologetically in one’s truth.
Advocate | Mentor | Trainer
Cedric “Entertrainer” Frison-currently works in social service with a number of community agencies, organizations & community stakeholders. He has worked with the Institute for Non-Violence Chicago as an Outreach Specialist for the READI Chicago Anti-Violence initiative, Haymarket Center, Housing Forward.org among others. Cedric's role as an outreach Professional involves recruiting members of street gangs, and members of communities-at-large plagued with violence, in efforts to ultimately help save lives via his “NO-VIOLENCE” initiative.
Born in Greenwood Mississippi and raised on Chicago’s west side in the Austin Community, Cedric admits to having a traumatic past with gang violence, drug abuse, family dysfunction and prison stints. However, Cedric now uses his ‘transformed platform’ (as a result of transforming his own life and thought process) to not only promote peace & non-violence in the city of Chicago but speaks out on the dangers of drugs and is certified in Restorative Justice and Nonviolence training.
Cedric also works as a Substance Misuse Recovery Coach & Opioid Overdose Prevention advocate. (Illinois Certification Board cert). He is the founder of Urban Community Unity Solutions LLC ( U.C.U.S.) & his affiliation with the National Alliance for the Empowerment of the Formerly Incarcerated (N.A.E.F.I.). As a returning citizen himself, Cedric is also a founding board member of the Fully-Free Campaign to end Permanent Punishment’s and speaks to young men and women about the importance of obtaining an education and is leading by example as a current Undergrad student at Northeastern Illinois University’s Center for Urban City Studies. He is also the Northeastern Illinois Universities 2024 recipient of the 22nd annual Black Heritage Award for Black excellence in Community Service.