“New Lawsuit Challenges Constitutionality of Alabama’s Felony Disenfranchisement Law”

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The Campaign Legal Center, the Voting Rights Institute, and the law firm of Jenner & Block, alongside a star-studded team of civil rights lawyers, today filed a lawsuit in Alabama district court on behalf of U.S. citizens with past felony convictions who have been denied the right to vote due to the state’s strict, discriminatory and arbitrary felony disenfranchisement system.

The lawsuit, Thompson v. Alabama, calls for the court to rule the law is racially discriminatory, unconstitutional and a violation of the Voting Rights Act. The lawsuit also asserts a theory that, if successful, could sharply limit the scope of permissible felon disenfranchisement nationwide, arguing that the 14th Amendment does not allow the blanket disenfranchisement of citizens for minor non-violent offenses that are irrelevant to voting.

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