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| Alabama Inmates Sue Over Voting Rights |
| By Associated Press |
| Published: 12/26/2005 |
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Three Alabama inmates have filed a lawsuit in federal court against Secretary of State Nancy Worley, claiming they are wrongfully being denied voting rights. The suit, filed by the National Association for the Advancement of Colored People, contends Worley violates Alabama's constitution by requiring felons to apply to the Board of Pardons and Paroles to have voting rights restored. The suit contends the constitution doesn't strip voting rights for certain felonies and there is no need to ask the parole board to restore them. Worley says she won't budge until she gets clarification on the issue from Attorney General Troy King. More than 3,741 state inmates have had their voting rights restored since a 2003 law stated most inmates do not need a full pardon in order to be eligible to vote, Sarah Still, whose pardon unit tracks inmate requests for voting rights, told the Associated Press on last week. Aside from DUI and simple drug possession, felons must apply for a voting registration certificate from the parole board to be eligible to vote again, Still said. Only impeachment, murder, treason, rape and other sexual offenses require a full pardon by the board. One of the inmates in the suit, Richard Gooden of Birmingham, was convicted of a felony DUI and the other two - Ekeyesto Doss of Dothan and Andrew Jones of Birmingham - were convicted of drug possession. All three were barred from voting by county registrars who cited their felony convictions. Gooden was allowed to register after a separate lawsuit was filed in September in Jefferson County. That case, which also names Worley, is pending. The NAACP suit points out that under a 1996 amendment to the Alabama constitution, inmates convicted of DUIs or drug possession alone never lose their voting rights - despite common belief that felons are prohibited from casting ballots. The issue came to light in March, when the pardons and paroles board received an advisory opinion from Attorney General Troy King, who said only those felonies involving "moral turpitude" - meaning the crimes are inherently immoral - disqualify a convict from voting. The finding caught state voting officials off guard, prompting a request by Secretary of State Nancy Worley to King seeking a comprehensive list of crimes that forfeit voting rights and those that don't. The request has been considered, but a list has not been handed down yet. Worley said Alabama has a long practice of removing from voting rolls anyone convicted of a felony, whether it's drug possession or murder. He added that another issue is whether any change would require elections in prison for felons who would not lose their voting rights. "As the state's chief election official, I'm personally opposed to people in prison voting," she said. |
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