Exercising the right to vote is important part of prisoner rehabilitation, but over 5 million convicted felons are barred from doing so.
A coalition of concerned citizens in Alabama is shaking up the GOP with their goal of registering voters in the most unlikely of places -- state prisons. A voter registration drive led last week by Rev. Kenny Glasgow, began registering prisoners to vote, a right guaranteed under Alabama's State Constitution, so they could cast absentee ballots.
The drive was originally embraced by Richard Allen, the commissioner of corrections in Alabama, but it was stopped when he received a letter on Thursday from the Alabama Republican Party opposing the drive. Its chairman, Mike Hubbard, told Mr. Allen that the party supports voter registration but not for prisoners, citing a need for safeguards against possible voter fraud.
While some people are working on behalf of felons, other political operatives are trying to purge felons from the voting rolls. Felon votes could be decisive in the U.S. election. Tom
No comments:
Post a Comment