Desmond Meade, who has been fighting for the full restoration of civil rights for formerly incarcerated people, went before Florida’s clemency board and was denied.
— Read on time.com/5892239/desmond-meade-clemency-florida/
felon voting rights
Tennessee governor signs bill increasing punishments for certain protests | TheHill
Tennessee Gov. Bill Lee (R) quietly signed a bill into law ramping up punishments for certain kinds of protests, including losing the right to vote.
— Read on thehill.com/homenews/state-watch/513201-tennessee-governor-signs-bill-increasing-punishments-for-certain
Gov. Edwards signs bills to toughen anti-hazing laws, restore voting rights for convicted felons | News | livingstonparishnews.com
BATON ROUGE — Tougher anti-hazing legislation and a law allowing voting rights to a select group of convicted felons gained the signature of Gov. John Bel Edwards during the week.
— Read on www.livingstonparishnews.com/content/tncms/live/
Victory for voting rights!!!
A Guide To The Big Photo ID, Early Voting And Other Voting Law Cases : NPR
Ahead of November, a number of important voting law cases are still up in the air nationwide. Here’s a breakdown of where some of the big cases stand.
Source: A Guide To The Big Photo ID, Early Voting And Other Voting Law Cases : NPR
Felon Disenfranchisement
In Maryland and Virginia, former felons have the ability to vote, with some restrictions. For example, in Virginia, they must complete probation or parole. Nonetheless. 40,000 persons in Maryland and more than 200.000 persons in Virginia now have access to the ballot box. These measures, however, may be met with litigation that could affect their ability to vote in the 2016 election. Read the New York Times article here.
Restoring the Right to Vote
Recently, Virginia and Kentucky took up the issue of restoring the right to vote to persons convicted of nonviolent felonies, with different results. In VA, the state house voted down a resolution that would allow for automatic restoration. In KY, state house members will need a super majority after public approval to provide restorative measures to nonviolent felons. The paradox of outcomes demonstrate that the road to restoration can be extremely difficult for the more than 5 million persons who have lost the right to vote because of former convictions.
Civil Rights Today 