The American Civil Liberties Union launched a nationwide campaign Sunday on voting rights, with an emphasis in Arizona on restoring the voting rights of people convicted of a felony crime. The Let People Vote campaign is working with community members to help pass a bill in the Arizona Legislature to restore the voting rights of citizens with felony convictions upon the completion of their sentence. Alessandra Soler, ACLU Arizona executive director, said the organization aims to take back the vote in direct response to the Trump administration’s investigation of voter fraud, a problem she said “doesn’t exist.”
“Voting rights are important to our members,” Soler said. “Arizona is one of a handful of states that essentially takes away people’s voting rights — even after they’ve served their time in prison — and so our voting-rights campaign focuses on helping people restore their voting rights.”
According to the ACLU, voting rights in Arizona are restored automatically for a one-court felony conviction after successful completion of probation and payment of all fines and fees. People convicted of multiple felonies who serve time in a state correctional institution must wait two years from their discharge date to apply to have their voting rights restored.
Full Article: ACLU group asks Arizona to restore voting rights to felons.