Mississippi’s Lifetime Felony Voting Ban Tested in U.S. Appeals Court
Mississippi’s lifetime voting ban on people with certain felony convictions faced another test in front of 19 federal appeals court judges.
Mississippi’s lifetime voting ban on people with certain felony convictions faced another test in front of 19 federal appeals court judges.
Mississippi should restore the voting rights of formerly incarcerated people, Democratic candidate for Mississippi attorney general Greta Kemp Martin said in a joint press conference with Democratic candidate for secretary of state Ty Pinkins in Greenville, Miss., on Sept. 14.
Mississippi’s lifetime voting ban for people convicted of certain crimes, a relic of the State’s 1890 Jim Crow laws, violates the U.S. Constitution, a federal appeals court ruled Friday morning.
Mississippi’s Jim Crow-era prohibitions on allowing people convicted of certain crimes to vote will remain after the U.S. Supreme Court declined to hear an appeal in the case today.
“Petitioners’ claim fails because the State’s 1950 and 1968 enactments purged any taint from the 1890 law,” Mississippi Attorney General Lynn Fitch’s Jan. 3, 2023, brief-in-opposition said.
When it comes to voting, there is no denying a simple fact about Mississippi: our state has refused to eliminate antiquated laws that disproportionately silence Black and young voters. In drafting the state’s constitution in 1890, white lawmakers with mal intent sought to limit the voting power of Black Freedmen by permanently disenfranchising those convicted of a specific set of felony offenses. Black Mississippians are still disproportionately harmed by these measures.
Mississippi Journalism and Education Group is a a 501(c)(3) nonprofit media organization (EIN 85-1403937) for the state, devoted to going beyond partisanship and publishing solutions journalism for the Magnolia State and all of its people.
125 S. Congress Street #1324
Jackson, MS 39201
info@mississippifreepress.org
tips@mississippifreepress.org
events@mississippifreepress.org
601-362-6121