By Kate Zernike
Published June 29th 2005 in The New York Times
Home. > Right to Vote > Voting Rights Issues > Felons | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
|
Felons The right to vote and to cast a free and secret ballot is supposed to be the cornerstone of democracy. Yet, upwards of 5.3 million Americans are denied the right to vote because of a past felony conviction. In fact, felons are the only group who is banned from voting by law. While Maine and Vermont allow all residents to vote, even residents serving time in jail, every other state has enacted laws that ban those serving time from voting. Two states, Virginia and Kentucky, permanently disenfranchise people convicted of felonies even after they have served their time. Over the last few years, advocates of felon voting rights have helped to successfully dismantle some laws, but the fight continues and millions of citizens every election are unable to vote because they have a felony conviction on their record. To learn more about felon disenfranchisement visit The Sentencing Project. Find the state processes for ex-felon re-enfranchisement This is especially useful if you are an ex-felon, a friend/family member of an ex-felon or are simply curious about the policies and procedures individual states establish. |
By Kate Zernike Published June 29th 2005 in The New York Times The State Senate approved a ballot question asking voters to consider a constitutional amendment that would allow felons to vote after they finish their prison terms. The measure, approved 27 to 8, will put the amendment on the ballot in November 2006. Now, as in many other states, former felons in Rhode Island may vote only after completing their probation and parole. Thirteen states and the District of Columbia allow felons to vote while on parole or probation; four others, including New York, allow them to vote while on probation, and Maine and Vermont extend the vote to prisoners as well. |
||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||