All articles tagged with #felony disenfranchisement
Virginia Gov. Abigail Spanberger restored voting rights to about 66,000 people with past felony convictions, reversing the lifetime ban and advancing a November constitutional amendment that would guarantee voting rights after release from prison; the move follows a federal ruling finding Virginia illegally disenfranchised residents for 156 years and highlights ongoing debates over who should be eligible to vote in the commonwealth.
A federal appeals court panel has ruled that Mississippi's permanent ban on voting rights for individuals convicted of certain felonies violates the U.S. Constitution's ban on cruel and unusual punishment. The ruling orders the Mississippi secretary of state to stop enforcing the provision in the state constitution that disenfranchises people convicted of specific crimes. If the ruling stands, thousands of people could regain their voting rights, potentially in time for the upcoming general election. Mississippi's Republican Attorney General plans to ask the full appeals court to reconsider the panel's decision.
A federal appeals court has ruled that Mississippi's Jim Crow-era policy of permanently revoking voting rights from certain individuals with felony convictions is unconstitutional. The law, which denied a higher percentage of residents the right to vote than any other state, disproportionately affected Black voters. The court found that the policy serves no penological purpose and is a cruel and unusual punishment. The only way for individuals to restore their rights was through a nearly impossible discretionary scheme. The ruling highlights Mississippi as an outlier among states that have moved away from permanent disenfranchisement. The lawsuit was brought by the Southern Poverty Law Center on behalf of individuals who lost their voting rights due to felony convictions.
The U.S. 5th Circuit Court of Appeals has ruled that Mississippi's lifetime voting ban for individuals convicted of certain crimes is unconstitutional, violating the Eighth Amendment's prohibition on cruel and unusual punishment. The court stated that Mississippi's permanent disenfranchisement law, a relic of the state's Jim Crow era, is an outlier compared to the national trend of restoring voting rights to individuals who have completed their sentences. The ruling highlights the racist history of the law, which was designed to disenfranchise Black residents. The state may appeal the decision to the full 5th Circuit or the U.S. Supreme Court.