Over 5.8 million Americans are not allowed to vote because they have been convicted of a felony, regardless of the nature or seriousness of the offense. More than one-third of these people are African Americans, and while the laws vary from state to state, in some states, including Florida, Kentucky, and Virginia, more than one in five African-Americans has lost the right to vote. Because voting is such an integral part of being a productive member of American society, the NAACP has worked closely with other like-minded groups to develop legislation that would allow felons who are no longer incarcerated to reintegrate themselves into society and vote in federal elections. The NAACP supports the Democracy Restoration Act, which allows ex-offenders to register and vote in federal elections as soon as they have been released from prison. We are expecting the Democracy Restoration Act to be reintroduced in the Senate by Senator Cardin (MD) and in the House of Representatives by Congressman Conyers (MI) in the very near future. For more information on the problem, or to see what you can do to help, please see the attached Issue Alert. Thank you, as always,
Posted on: Thu, 20 Feb 2014 23:19:23 +0000
Trending Topics
Recently Viewed Topics
© 2015