"Voter ID's Evil Twin" by By Erik Nielson at Salon

[applegrove]

Voter ID's Evil Twin

by By Erik Nielson at Salon

http://www.salon.com/2012/08/17/voter_ids_evil_twin/

"SNIP...........................................

Turzai’s statement was revealing but far from surprising. Indeed, while voter ID laws have been the latest and most high-profile prong in the attack on voting rights, they are in fact part of a much broader effort to disenfranchise minority voters. Nowhere is this clearer than in state laws that prohibit convicted felons from voting, in some cases for life.


According to a new report from the Sentencing Project, there are now 5.85 million people in the U.S. who are barred from voting because of a felony conviction, about 2.5 percent of the total population. Predictably, given the history of racism that gave rise to them, felony disenfranchisement laws have had a vastly disproportionate impact on African-Americans. Today approximately 7.7 percent of African-Americans old enough to vote are disenfranchised nationwide, compared to just 1.8 percent of the rest of the population. The reason for these astonishing figures is that in many states, disenfranchisement for felonies (and, in some cases, even misdemeanors) is all but permanent.

While most states automatically restore voting rights at some point, there is an ignominious list of 12 that make voting after a felony conviction anywhere from difficult to near impossible. Take Mississippi. It is among the Southern states that implemented felony voting laws over a century ago to circumvent the 15th Amendment (giving blacks the right to vote). Today, citizens of Mississippi who are found guilty of any number of felonies do not regain their full voting rights, even after they serve their time and complete all parole or probation requirements. However, there is a pathway back to enfranchisement — one that would be downright comical if its effects weren’t so profound. In the Magnolia State, convicts wishing to vote again must either appeal directly to the governor for an executive order or ask their state representative to author a bill restoring their right to vote, a bill that both houses of the Legislature must pass. Big shock: reenfranchisement in Mississippi is only marginally more common than voter fraud; just .08 percent of ex-felons in Mississippi have seen their voting rights restored.

...........................................SNIP"

[davidpdx]

1. I've known several people who have been in prison, my take is

As soon as they are released they've done their time. If they are on probation or parole, they should be allowed to vote. Their civic duty to vote should be restored as soon as they are released. This is LITERALLY part of belonging to a community again. It may sound like a small thing, but allowing them to vote is important.

[muriel_volestrangler]

2. In Britain, the European Court of Human Rights has said serving prisoners must be given the vote

The Conservative government is resisting every way it can. There are arguments about what qualifications could be used - those serving a sentence above a certain length could still be refused the vote, or for more serious crimes, but the present 'no-one can register to vote from prison' rule has been deemed against their rights (you have to re-register every year, by law - the same electoral list is used for jury service). But I don't think anyone here contemplates a ban on those who have been released.

http://www.guardian.co.uk/politics/2012/jul/15/uk-prisoner-voting-rights-europe

[davidpdx]

3. I wonder if a case as ever been made in front of the UN Human Rights Commission

By a prisoner in the US for lack of voting rights. I'm not sure whether I'd personally support that or not. I think one state (Vermont) lets prisoners vote. Of course Vermont is very liberal.

I just think it's ridiculous that people who have been released are disenfranchised. That is what I'd like to see change first.