Court Restores Inmates' Voting Rights

[cal04]

SAN FRANCISCO: A state appeals court is restoring the voting rights of about 100,000 local jail inmates across the state who are serving a year or less for felony convictions.

The state said it would not appeal the decision from the 1st District Court of Appeal. The affected inmates were eligible to vote until last year, when the state disenfranchised them.

For three decades, California's secretary of state had interpreted that the state Constitution barred voting by those in state prisons and those on parole.

The appeals court said in it's decision last week that the state wrongly changed the policy last year to include people convicted of felonies but sentenced to a year or less in a local county jail.

The League of Women Voters brought the case on behalf of three San Francisco County jail inmates.

http://news.yahoo.com/s/ap/20061229/ap_on_el_ge/prisoner_voting_1

[PDJane]

1. Another legal difference.........

Inmates are allowed to vote country wide in Canada. If you are a citizen, you can vote.

[Cronus Protagonist]

2. Yeah, much better, in other words

A state taking away the voting rights of its own citizens is a state out of control.

[Kurovski]

3. K&R(nt)