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Trump will name more conservative judges. He may even pick a majority of the Supreme Court; Both sides react as Missouri reverses near-total abortion ban Literacy initiative to implement 250 new early-education activations in PA.

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President Biden asks Americans to turn down the temperature, House Speaker Mike Johnson promises an aggressive first 100 day agenda and Democratic governors vow to push back on Trump's plan for mass deportations.

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Texas women travel some of the longest distances for abortion care, Californians the shortest, rural living comes with mixed blessings for veterans, an ancient technique could curtail climate-change wildfires, and escape divisive politics on World Kindness Day.

Lawsuit forces NM to rush voter registration for those with felony convictions

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Wednesday, October 16, 2024   

New Mexicans who've been released from prison after serving time for a felony conviction will be able to vote in next month's election, after pro-voting groups lit a fire under state officials.

A law was implemented last year to restore voting rights to people previously incarcerated for felony convictions upon their release.

Blair Bowie, Restore Your Vote director at the Campaign Legal Center, said the state's nearly 11,000 affected people faced obstacles nonetheless.

"Folks with past convictions have had a really hard time actually getting registered to vote in New Mexico, because the officials who are responsible for implementing that law, have really dragged their feet," Bowie asserted.

She explained slow adherence to the 2023 New Mexico Voting Rights Act led the Center to co-file a lawsuit in state District Court late last month. An agreement has since been reached requiring New Mexico to immediately update its records. Those already denied registration will be reprocessed and should be eligible to vote on Nov. 5.

Bowie acknowledged because the rules are different in every state, many who have served time for a felony conviction believe they are permanently disenfranchised from voting. She also noted a lack of coordination between correctional officials and those who administer state elections can result in stale or faulty data.

"They're not always very good at removing the flags that make them eligible again," Bowie explained. "Whether that's being released from prison, completing probation and parole or whatever - so, I would say it's a widespread problem."

According to the New Mexico Secretary of State's office, more than 730 people so far have registered to vote under the new voting provisions concerning felony convictions.

Support for this reporting was provided by The Carnegie Corporation of New York.


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