Old Law + New Interpretation = Thousands of Newly Enfranchised Voters
Maggie
On Sunday, the New York Times reported activities around a new reading of the Alabama constitution, which will grant thousands of former felons in Alabama the right to vote.
It seems that the constitution, previously thought to ban all felons from voting, actually only disenfranchises those who have committed a felony involving “moral turpitude.” Drug possession felonies, among others, would fall outside that classification.
The most incredible quote in the article came from a Republican party official, who had this to say in reference to a previous piece of state legislation that would affect the voting rights of all ex-felons in Alabama, regardless of moral turpitude:
“There’s no more anti-Republican bill than this,” said Marty Connors, the chairman of the state Republican Party according to news reports at the time. “As frank as I can be, we’re opposed to it because felons don’t tend to vote Republican.”
The quote reveals the biggest obstacle to any type of electoral reform in the US: political leaders from both major parties only support reform to the extent that it further enfranchises their own constituencies. It’s just rare that a politician will admit to this so directly.
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