Voting Rights Update
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Voting rights restored to ex-felons in NM,
activity in MD
There is a great deal going on in
the field of voting rights, as many of you know quite well from
direct involvement in debates and struggles involving the Census,
redistricting, post-Florida electoral reform and more. I wanted to
pass on some good news and alert you to other
developments. * Movement to restore
voting rights to ex-felons gains steam Tim Canova of the University
of New Mexico Law School sent me the following: On March 15th, New
Mexico overnor Gary Johnson signed into law Senate Bill 204 to
restore the right to vote to citizens convicted of a felony who have
satisfied all the conditions of their sentences. The bill had been
introduced by Senator Richard M. Romero, the President Pro Tem of
the Senate. Dating back to 1911, New Mexico was one of only nine
states that had denied voting rights to ex-felons for the rest of
their lives. Such felony disenfranchisement laws were often adopted
to keep black citizens from voting. More than 13 percent of black
men (some 1.4 million nationwide) -- and in some states nearly 40
percent of black men -- are disenfranchised as a result of such
laws. The Sante Fe New
Mexican reported that as many as 45 percent of black males in the
state could not vote -- "the highest ratio in the country."
Hispanics and Native Americans were also disproportionately harmed
by felony disenfranchisement in New Mexico. For instance, while
Hispanics make up about 40 percent of the state's population, they
constitute 60 percent of the state's prisoners. One prominent study
concluded that as of Dec. 31, 1998 more than 54,000 New Mexicans (or
5.52 percent of the state's voting age population) were deprived of
the right to vote as a result of the old law. In Florida, nearly 9 percent
of the voting age population are permanently barred from voting as a
result of that state's felony disenfranchisement law. (Note:
yesterday the Maryland housed passed a similar bill. It now goes to
the senate, where it faces resistance and needs citizen
pressure.) * CVD rundown of alternative voting systems legislation Expect more federal and state bills soon, but already there is an important range of legislation about proportional voting systems and instant runoff voting. The following report comes from our web site at: http://fairvote.org/action/index.html . Pending Legislation and Ballot Measures Updated March 22, 2001. * American
Prospect debate on "Should Democrats Support Majority Minority
Districts?" See http://www.prospect.org/controversy/districts/hill-richie-1.html.
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