It’s deadline day at the state capitol – and there’s a last-minute push to restore voting rights for felons here in Mississippi. … This latest effort centers around Mississippi ‘s constitutional lifetime voting ban if someone is convicted of a felony. Mississippi is one of only 3 states with a lifetime ban— crimes that can get you disenfranchised range from larceny to murder. One Mississippian who was convicted of a felony as a juvenile is a part of a lawsuit going after the state for this law. He says he deserves to be able to vote because he did his time, then stayed away from trouble and now he is trying to set an example for his young children.
House Minority Leader David Baria says people always need second chances
“We all know somebody in our life that’s either family or friends who had a youthful indiscretion that committed a crime that lost their right to vote for their entire lives — They’ve done everything that we’ve asked them to do in terms of paying their debts to society and yet they still can’t vote this is just wrong.”
Full Article: Voting rights for felons considered at legislature.