WASHINGTON – After years of expressing little interest, the U.S. Supreme Court yesterday asked the Obama administration to weigh in on whether laws that bar felons from voting violated the federal Voting Rights Act.
The request came in the case of Simmons v. Galvin, 09-920. In that case, the U.S. Court of Appeals for the First Circuit upheld Massachusetts Article 120, an amendment to the state constitution in 2000 that barred felons from voting while in prison, 575 F. 3d 24 (1st Cir. 2009). Massachusetts is one of 13 states with similar prohibitions, while 35 other states extend the ban to the period of parole or probation or beyond. New York does not allow incarcerated or paroled felons to vote. Only Maine and Vermont allow felons to vote without restriction during and after their imprisonment.
This content has been archived. It is available through our partners, LexisNexis® and Bloomberg Law.
To view this content, please continue to their sites.
Not a Lexis Subscriber?
Subscribe Now
Not a Bloomberg Law Subscriber?
Subscribe Now
LexisNexis® and Bloomberg Law are third party online distributors of the broad collection of current and archived versions of ALM's legal news publications. LexisNexis® and Bloomberg Law customers are able to access and use ALM's content, including content from the National Law Journal, The American Lawyer, Legaltech News, The New York Law Journal, and Corporate Counsel, as well as other sources of legal information.
For questions call 1-877-256-2472 or contact us at [email protected]
