A new bill unveiled by Rep. John Conyers and Sen. Ben Cardin would restore the voting rights of former convicted felons released from prison.
Conyers, who represents Michigan’s 13th Congressional District and is the top Democrat on the House Judiciary Committee, introduced legislation Thursday that would give ex-felons who are no longer in prison the ability to vote in federal elections.
Though 23 states have reformed their disenfranchisement regulations to include more ex-felons, more than 5.8 million remain ineligible to vote in federal elections, according to the Sentencing Project.
“Just as poll taxes and literacy tests prevented an entire class of citizens, namely African-Americans, from integrating into society after centuries of slavery, ex-offender disenfranchisement laws prevent people from reintegrating into society after they have paid their debt by serving time in prison,” Conyers said in a statement.
Cardin, a Maryland Democrat, sponsored the Senate version of the bill.
“State disenfranchisement laws deny citizens participation in our democracy and the patchwork of laws leads to an unfair disparity and unequal participation in federal elections based solely on where an individual lives, in addition to the racial disparities inherent in our judicial system,” Cardin said.
