The governor of Virginia recently signed papers restoring the right to vote for approximately 13,000 ex-felons. In Virginia approximately one in five African Americans have been disenfranchised by the law restricting ex-felons from voting for life. The governor had previously signed an executive order restoring the voting rights of some 206,000 ex-felons, but the Virginia Supreme Court said he did not have that power except on a case by case basis.
Trump said the governor was “getting thousands of violent felons to the voting booth in an effort to cancel out the votes of both law enforcement and crime victims.”
Amazingly, Pennsylvania law on ex-felons voting is reasonable. If you are in prison awaiting trial but have not been convicted, you can vote. If you are in prison because of a misdemeanor, you can vote. If you’ve been released, you can vote. If you’re on probation or released on parole, you can vote. Under house arrest? You can vote. One stipulation is that you can’t use the prison or the half-way house as your address.
Information on Virginia is from Michael Wines, “13,000 Felons Given Back Voting Rights in Virginia,” New York Times, (23 Aug. 2016), p. A9. Information on Pennsylvania is from the state’s Voter Registration Application instructions.
Once a person has served their sentence, they are assumed to have paid their debt to society and they are released. At that point, I feel they should be able to live as a member of the community and have the right to vote.
ReplyDeleteEvidently a number of states don't get that.
ReplyDelete