JACKSON, Miss. (AP) — Mississippi legislators advanced bills Monday to give voting rights back to 32 people convicted of felonies, weeks after a Senate leader killed a broader bill that would have restored suffrage to many more people with criminal records.
The move is necessary due to Mississippi’s piecemeal approach to restoring voting rights to people convicted of felony offenses who have paid their debts to society. It also reflects the legacy of the state’s original list of disenfranchising crimes, which springs from the Jim Crow era. The attorneys who have sued to challenge the list say authors of the state constitution removed voting rights for crimes they thought Black people were more likely to commit.
To have voting rights restored, people convicted of any of the crimes must get a pardon from the governor or persuade lawmakers to pass individual bills just for them, with two-thirds approval of the House and Senate. Lawmakers in recent years have passed few of those bills, and they passed none in 2023.
Met Gala 2024: The theme, who's hosting and what else to know
Visually impaired girl plays Beijing 2022 theme song Snowflake
Chinese dancer pursues dream on wheels
Freight trains to Europe and back set record in Northeast
Tom Holland confirms he is definitely returning for a fourth Spider
Chinese dancer pursues dream on wheels
COSCO Shipping to bulk up with 80 new vessels
Carriers sanguine on travel season
Bayer CEO optimistic about expanding Chinese market
County in China's Shaanxi transforms ecological resources to green economy