JACKSON, Miss. (WJTV) – Mississippi is one of four states that doesn’t allow felons to automatically get their voting rights back after serving time.
The House Select Committee on Voting Rights heard from the Secure Democracy Foundation about automatic restoration. Mississippi currently requires a complex process to restore voting rights, while some states automatically allow rights to be restored following incarceration or restore them after probation or parole.
Mississippi lawmakers discuss early voting
Attorney Marvin Sanders said he’s glad lawmakers are considering the change.
“If you make it automatic, where as soon as they are completed with their process, probation and parole, or whoever it is that supervising them, sends off notification to the agency that’s handling it, say, ‘Hey, this guy has met all the qualifications.’ It should be automatic. I mean, any automatic process is going to be much easier than the legal process that we have today,” stated Sanders.
State Rep. Noah Sandford (R-District 90) believes there is a general consensus in the House on restoring voting rights for those who have been convicted of non-violent crimes.
If a bill is drafted, it would have to pass the House and the Senate before going to Gov. Tate Reeves (R-Miss.).
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