If Only There Were An Organization That Could Do Something About This

Like a political party or something (boldface mine):

Alabama does not have to notify tens of thousands of former felons that they recently regained the right to vote, a federal judge ruled Friday. The judge also found that the state does not have to automatically restore voting rights to citizens who tried to register but were denied before the state’s law regarding felon disenfranchisement changed this year

After Ivey signed HB 282, Alabama Secretary of State John Merrill (R) said he would not dedicate resources to educating people about the change. In an interview with ThinkProgress, he said he has not heard from anyone who is being denied access to the polls and compared voting to a privilege, like receiving free ice cream. Arguing that Merrill’s logic is flawed, the Campaign Legal Center filed a request on behalf of ten former felons asking the state to educate and inform people affected by the new law that they can now vote…

In May, Lang told ThinkProgress that HB 282 is a “step in the right direction,” but not a solution to Alabama’s problematic felon disenfranchisement law.

The law still imposes what can be considered a poll tax because former felons have to pay fines and fees to restore their right to vote. “Wealth should not be a factor in deciding who can vote,” Lang said.

If a political party were to inform people about this, maybe even find some aligned donors and organizations to help people restore their right to vote, it could be good for them locally and nationally. It might even draw negative attention towards the other party that pushes these horrible laws, all the while cutting through the communication firewall in red states.

If only there were such an organization…

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2 Responses to If Only There Were An Organization That Could Do Something About This

  1. Bayesian Bouffant, FCD says:

    … and compared voting to a privilege, like receiving free ice cream.

    Our founding father should have built our democracy around free ice cream. It probably would enhance voter participation.

  2. Pingback: 2:00PM Water Cooler 8/8/2017 - Daily Economic Buzz

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