ShootSpeeders
Gold Member
- May 13, 2012
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This is probably a good idea though it will likely help democrats and that's all holder cares about. Repubs should counter by saying we should then restore gun rights to felons. Gun rights are a constitutional right while the right to vote is not.
Eric Holder makes case for felons to get voting rights back - The Washington Post
feb 12, 2014
Attorney General Eric H. Holder Jr. on Tuesday called on states to repeal laws that prohibit felons from voting after their release from prison, urging changes that could allow millions more across the country to cast ballots.
Holder said that current laws forbidding felons from voting make it harder for them to reintegrate into society. He pointed to a recent study that showed that felons in Florida who were granted the right to vote again had a lower recidivism rate.
These restrictions are not only unnecessary and unjust, they are also counterproductive, Holder said. By perpetuating the stigma and isolation imposed on formerly incarcerated individuals, these laws increase the likelihood they will commit future crimes.
The attorney general said that after the Civil War, laws that prohibit felons from voting were a way for post-Reconstruction states to keep blacks from casting ballots. Today, an estimated 5.8 million Americans are not allowed to vote because of current or previous felony convictions. Of those, nearly 38 percent are black.
The Justice Department said that 23 states since 1997 have enacted voting rights overhauls. They include Nebraska, Nevada, Texas and Washington state.
In Virginia, former governor Robert F. McDonnell (R) enacted a policy last year that allowed those with non-violent felony convictions to have their voting rights automatically restored. But critics say the effort still leaves many disenfranchised.
The Justice Department said that 11 states, including Florida and Kentucky, restrict voting rights for felons. Holder said that 10 percent of Floridas population is disenfranchised.