A new suit filed against the state asserts that a decades-old law preventing some felons from voting is inherently racist.
10 Alabamians, along with Greater Birmingham Ministries, filed a suit in federal court on Monday over the claim. Using figures from the D.C.-based Sentencing Project, they say that Alabama’s law unfairly blocks over 250,000- or 15 percent- of black Alabamians from voting.
The Alabama Constitution prevents those who have been convicted of felony crimes related to “moral turpitude” from the electoral process. Because “moral turpitude” isn’t clearly defined in the law, plaintiffs claim that the rule has allowed local election officials to make judgments based on personal biases.
Secretary of State John Merrill is listed as a defendant in the case. In a statement to the New York Times, he agreed that Alabama would benefit from providing clarity to the law.
“We don’t want anybody to be disenfranchised, even people who have been convicted of crimes, as long as they’ve paid any restitution,” he said.
With the exception of certain crimes, like murder, voting rights can be restored through an appeals process with the state Board of Pardon and Paroles if all fines and court fees have been paid. In 2015, the agency announced that voting rights were re-granted to 572 individuals.
The Associated Press reports that many states fully reinstate voting rights upon the successful completion of a sentence. However, at least four states- Iowa, Kentucky, Virginia, and Florida- have no voter restoration process for felons.
Leading up to the November election, voting rights laws across the country are coming under intense scrutiny. Alabama’s neighboring state of Georgia, for example, was recently sued because voter applications were rejected over mismatched state data.
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