Judge Strikes Down North Carolina Felon Voting Law
Judge Strikes Down North Carolina Felon Voting Law
The Facts
A federal judged has struck down the enforcement of a North Carolina law that criminalized voting for people with felony convictions.
On Monday, U.S. District Judge Loretta Biggs, said in a 25 page order that "was enacted with discriminatory intent, has not been cleansed of its discriminatory taint, and continues to disproportionately impact Black voters."
The Spin
This discriminatory voter suppression tactic unfairly targeted Black Americans and aimed to prevent them from exercising their right to vote. This law has racist origins that cannot be ignored. Although the law was recently amended to clarify that intent is needed for felons to be criminalized for voting, this stipulation could be arbitrarily enforced based only off the preferences and opinions of the individual prosecutors. Changing this law will keep minority groups from being unfairly targeted, and keep
People that break the law should not be able to participate in the creation of new laws. There are many valid reasons why felons should not be given their right to vote back. Felons who attempt to vote before their rights are restored, are committing voter fraud and should be prosecuted accordingly.