WaPo: Gov. Terry McAuliffe announced Thursday that he had broken the record for restoring voting rights to convicted felons, calling it his “proudest achievement” as governor. McAuliffe (D) said he had individually restored rights to 156,221 Virginians, surpassing the previous… Continue reading

Frank Askin Miami-Herald oped: Can Florida claim to be a democracy when one out of every 10 of adult citizens in the state are denied the right to vote because some time in their lives they were convicted of a… Continue reading

Release: On Monday, March 13 the Fair Elections Legal Network and Cohen Milstein Sellers & Toll PLLC filed a class action lawsuit that seeks to automatically restore former felons’ voting rights and eliminate Florida’s arbitrary process for re-enfranchisement. The plaintiffs… Continue reading

Miami Herald: Attorney General Pam Bondi had nothing to say to the Florida Supreme Court Monday, and for people working to restore the right to vote to convicted felons, that was welcome news. The court must decide whether a ballot… Continue reading

If the Florida Supreme Court allows this measure to go on the ballot, it would be a huge deal in Florida. WSJ: Mr. Meade plans to be in the courtroom Monday when the Florida Supreme Court reviews a proposed constitutional… Continue reading

New ACS Issue Brief by Avner Shapiro.

The case is Thompson v. Alabama and the brief is here. Keep your eye on this suit.

Release: Florida’s lifetime ban on voting for people with past felony convictions is one of the harshest laws in the nation and its severe moral, racial, and economic consequences demand it be replaced, according to a new report released today… Continue reading

Murat Mungan has posted this draft on SSRN.  Here is the abstract: Disenfranchisement laws in many states prohibit convicted felons from voting. The removal of ex-convicts from the pool of eligible voters reduces the pressure politicians may otherwise face… Continue reading

Must-read on Florida’s long path to restoration of voting rights for felons who have turned their lives around. More than 10,000 applications wait to be heard by the Florida Board of Executive Clemency. The backlog seems by design. The board,… Continue reading

NYT reports.

Release: 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… Continue reading