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At Least 11 Dead After Severe Flooding Sweeps The South; Hundreds Of Thousands Without Power; Abandoned Mine Land program frozen as Appalachia faces severe flooding; Solar power gives MN resort new blood, new life.

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Top Trump officials set to meet with Russian officials in Saudi Arabia over the Ukraine war. The GOP budget resolution is at risk as moderates weigh out consequences. New York City Mayor Eric Adams says he's "going nowhere."

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Report: GA, US behind in voting rights for justice-impacted

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Wednesday, August 7, 2024   

A new report highlighted how the U.S. compares globally in disenfranchising people based on criminal convictions.

The study analyzed 136 countries and found most do not deny voting rights due to convictions.

Trey Walk, democracy researcher and advocate for Human Rights Watch and the report's co-author, said it makes the U.S. one of the strictest in denying rights for justice-impacted citizens. He noted what other countries are doing to ensure voting rights are eventually restored.

"There are countries that have time-bound restrictions, so they may remove the right to vote during incarceration," Walk pointed out. "But immediately upon release, those rights are restored."

He explained other countries impose temporary voting restrictions, removing the right to vote for a few years before restoring it. Only five countries have permanent disenfranchisement. Overall the U.S. bans more than 4.4 million citizens from voting due to felony convictions.

The report also highlighted felony disenfranchisement laws as a major obstacle to justice for communities of color. To overcome barriers, it recommended measures such as changing laws to make voting more accessible and creating polling centers in correctional facilities to improve access.

Nicole D. Porter, senior director of advocacy for The Sentencing Project and co-author of the report, said while there is a lot of progress needed, there are ongoing efforts across the U.S. to restore voting rights.

"Active measures were introduced this year in Connecticut, New York and Massachusetts and Illinois and there are active coalitions in those states," Porter emphasized. "There's also pending federal legislation called the Inclusive Democracy Act that would end felony disenfranchisement for all persons, including those completing their felony sentence."

The report also urged the U.S. to abolish "pay to vote" practices, which require payment of court fees and fines before voting rights can be restored.


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