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Alabama: Denying Voters’ Rights?

By Associated Press

A new lawsuit claims the state of
Alabama is violating the Constitution by denying some convicted
felons the right to vote. Alabama: Denying Voters’ Rights?

Published: Mon, July 21, 2008 - 3:33 pm Last Updated: Mon, July 21, 2008 - 3:36 pm

The American Civil Liberties Union filed suit Monday in
Montgomery challenging the state's voter disenfranchisement laws as
unconstitutional. The suit claims thousands of people are wrongly
being denied the right to vote.
Under Alabama law, officials can deny voting rights to felons
convicted of crimes of "moral turpitude." But that term isn't
defined, and it's led to confusion over who should be allowed to
cast ballots.
The state attorney general's office has issued guidelines for
local election officials on the question of which felons can vote.
But there's no immediate comment from the state on the lawsuit.

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southfan1981 Says:

Wed, Jul 23, 2008 at 2:05 pm

It’s my opinion. When you remove one right, you’ve taken them all. Oh well.

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carl Says:

Wed, Jul 23, 2008 at 1:59 pm

Punishment for criminal acts.

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southfan1981 Says:

Wed, Jul 23, 2008 at 1:50 pm

Voting rights…

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carl Says:

Wed, Jul 23, 2008 at 11:52 am

I don’t think any one’s afraid to let them vote, It’s just one of the rights they shouldn’t have while in jail or on parole as part of their punishment. Once they’ve served their time, let’em vote when they want, on what they want. I have no Idea how they classify Felons, that is do they retain their felon status in law after serving their time for a felony or do they get a clean slate on most things.

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southfan1981 Says:

Wed, Jul 23, 2008 at 10:30 am

It’s called voting rights. Are people afraid of votes?

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carl Says:

Wed, Jul 23, 2008 at 9:53 am

I just wish we had just a few thousand in our prisons. I think for some crimes most rights should be taken away and voting would be one. Some of these Felons I would deny some of the most basic rights afforded the rest of the law abiding citizens. That’s why we call it punishment for the crimes they committed. I don’t believe being incompetent would be classified as a serious felony, if it was we would have to build a fence around Washington,Dc.

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southfan1981 Says:

Wed, Jul 23, 2008 at 9:24 am

Since when does committing a crime negate constituitional rights? Did you know if you were adjudicated as being incompetent, you have your voting rights taken away as well? These are rights, not privileges. Who is afraid of a few thousand voters taking over? What a joke!

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carl Says:

Wed, Jul 23, 2008 at 5:20 am

I believe Rolltide is right about not voting on the actual law, just the people that propose and pass the laws just as in the Presidential selection process. Would you want all the convicted felons in prisons voting for the candidates of their choice ? But if you believe in the ACLU you probably would. I see nothing in this article that says the ACLU states that the felons must have served their time and be released before being eligible to vote, There fore I give it two thumbs down.

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myadvice Says:

Tue, Jul 22, 2008 at 3:27 pm

They need to vote, they will be released one day.

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rolltide Says:

Tue, Jul 22, 2008 at 2:15 pm

Obviously violent offenders will not get their voting rights restored. The general public might be surprised at what constitutes a felony conviction now days. It doesn’t take much. Yea for the ACLU, standing up for what is right. Oh, and I can’t think of any elections where I voted to pass an actual law. I think all of that is done in Montgomery and Washington.

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