This post is from an article in Politico by JOSH GERSTEIN.
People convicted of felonies should not forever lose their right to vote, according to Attorney General Eric Holder.
In remarks prepared for delivery at todays criminal justice conference at the Leadership Council on Civil and Human Rights Criminal Justice Forum at Georgetown law school, Holder takes aim at state laws which strip voting rights from those convicted of serious crimes.
CLICK HERE for information about the conference.
"It is time to fundamentally rethink laws that permanently disenfranchise people who are no longer under federal or state supervision, these restrictions are not only unnecessary and unjust, they are also counterproductive. By perpetuating the stigma and isolation imposed on formerly incarcerated individuals, these laws increase the likelihood they will commit future crimes." Holder will say.
Holder also plans to note that felon disenfranchisement laws ban almost one in 13 African Americans from voting and, in states like Florida, Kentucky and Virginia, as many as one in five black adults have been stripped of voting rights.
"However well-intentioned current advocates of felony disenfranchisement may be – the reality is that these measures are, at best, profoundly outdated," Holder is to say. "At worst, these laws, with their disparate impact on minority communities, echo policies enacted during a deeply troubled period in America’s past – a time of post-Civil War discrimination. And they have their roots in centuries-old conceptions of justice that were too often based on exclusion, animus, and fear."
Mr. GERSTEIN notes:
Holder has been stepping up his public advocacy on various issues in recent months, including reform to the criminal justice system. He's pressing to rein in the use of mandatory minimum sentences, particularly for drug crime, and is encouraging some federal inmates to apply for presidential commutations. Such actions would surely have caused a stir during the tough-on-crime 1990s, Holder's recent moves have encountered little public or political resistance. In fact, some Republicans are supporting shorter sentences for some offenders, in part due to huge prison costs federal and state governments are incurring.
CLICK HERE for a State by State Chart of Felon Voting Laws.
NYC Wins When Everyone Can Vote!
Michael H. Drucker
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