Voting Laws for Felons Can Be Hard to Follow. Heres an Overview.

[elleng]

'If a person is convicted of first-degree murder in the state of Vermont, he or she will retain the right to vote — even while incarcerated.

But a person who commits perjury in Mississippi could be permanently barred from casting a ballot there.

It is up to states — not the federal government — to say whether convicted felons can vote, and which ones, and when. So the rules for convicted criminals can change, sometimes drastically, from one state to the next. (The issue can be knotty within states, too: This past week, New York’s governor announced plans to sidestep a resistant State Legislature to give the vote to felons on parole.)

It’s a lot to keep track of, but here’s an overview of where states stand — at least for now — on felons’ voting rights.'>>>

https://www.nytimes.com/2018/04/21/us/felony-voting-rights-law.html?

[unblock]

1. politicians creating self-serving laws and regulations to select their own constituency.

and there's a huge racist component to this as well.

felons are disproportionately black because there's racism at every step in the process, from the criminal code itself to where police patrol or are called to the first encounter with police all the way through to sentencing and even parole. at every step, there's bigotry.

so disenfranchising felons is hugely racist as it affect black people far disproportionately to white people.
and don't kid yourself, it's not just that republicans are aware of this; it's precisely why they're so keen on disenfranchising felons.


there is *no* justification to deny americans the right to vote. being a felon, or having committed a felony years ago, has *nothing* to do with voting. allowing government the right to decide who votes and who doesn't is a recipe for corruption and despotism.

the obvious risks of bad government far, far outweigh whatever pretend excuse they put out to justify denying americans the right to vote.