Current:Home > MarketsMississippi should restore the voting rights of former felons, Democratic candidates say -WealthTrail Solutions
Mississippi should restore the voting rights of former felons, Democratic candidates say
View
Date:2025-04-23 03:27:07
JACKSON, Miss. (AP) — Mississippi should stop defending a Jim Crow-era portion of its state constitution that permanently strips voting rights from people convicted of certain felonies, the Democratic nominees for two statewide offices said Thursday.
Greta Kemp Martin faces first-term Republican Attorney General Lynn Fitch and Ty Pinkins faces first-term Republican Secretary of State Michael Watson in the Nov. 7 election.
Kemp Martin said a panel of federal appeals judges made the correct decision Aug. 4 when they ruled that Mississippi’s ban on voting after conviction for crimes including forgery and bigamy is a violation of the U.S. Constitution’s ban on cruel and unusual punishment.
The disenfranchisement is “a continued punishment for people who have served their sentence to the state of Mississippi,” Kemp Martin said Thursday. “And they deserve the right to be able to enter their community and participate in one of our most sacred rights.”
Fitch, who represents Watson in court, filed papers Aug. 18 asking the full 5th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals to reconsider the panel’s ruling and to continue allowing the permanent disenfranchisement of some residents.
Kemp Martin said if she is elected attorney general, she will drop the request for a rehearing. If the panel’s ruling stands, tens of thousands of Mississippi residents would regain voting rights after they finish serving their sentences.
Pinkins, appearing at a Vicksburg news conference with Kemp Martin, said regaining the right to vote is vital for people who have left prison.
“You’re not a full citizen if you can’t exercise that fundamental right,” Pinkins said. “Secretary of State Michael Watson and Attorney General Lynn Fitch — they have been fighting so that we can’t overturn that archaic law.”
The Associated Press sent emails to spokespeople for Fitch and Watson on Thursday, seeking response to comments by their challengers.
The New Orleans-based 5th Circuit is widely considered one of the most conservative federal appeals courts. Fitch asked the full court — with 16 active judges — to reconsider the case, saying the 2-1 ruling by the panel conflicts with Supreme Court precedent and rulings in other circuit courts. Attorneys challenging the ban filed papers Aug. 31, disagreeing with Fitch.
A separate lawsuit used a different argument to challenge Mississippi’s prohibition on voting by people with felony convictions — and in 2022, the 5th Circuit ruled against those plaintiffs. That lawsuit argued the lifetime disenfranchisement was designed to keep Black people out of power. In June, the U.S. Supreme Court said it would not consider that case, allowing the ruling to stand.
The suit that the Supreme Court declined to hear was based on arguments about equal protection. Plaintiffs said that the authors of the Mississippi Constitution in 1890 stripped voting rights for crimes they thought Black people were more likely to commit, including forgery, larceny and bigamy.
veryGood! (17615)
Related
- Meta releases AI model to enhance Metaverse experience
- Graceland sale halted by judge in Tennessee after Elvis Presley's granddaughter alleges fraud
- Street shooting in Harrisburg leaves 2 men dead, 3 people wounded
- Judge signs off on $600 million Ohio train derailment settlement but residents still have questions
- Off the Grid: Sally breaks down USA TODAY's daily crossword puzzle, Triathlon
- 'Seinfeld' star Michael Richards reflects on aftermath of racism scandal: 'It hasn't been easy'
- Nordstrom’s Half-Yearly Sale Is Full of Epic Home & Fashion Deals up to 60% off, Including SKIMS & More
- 5 dead and nearly 3 dozen hurt in tornadoes that tore through Iowa, officials say
- What were Tom Selleck's juicy final 'Blue Bloods' words in Reagan family
- New NASA Mission Tracks Microscopic Organisms in the Ocean and Tiny Particles in the Air to Monitor Climate Change
Ranking
- Elon Musk’s Daughter Vivian Calls Him “Absolutely Pathetic” and a “Serial Adulterer”
- Red Lobster lists 99 restaurants closed in 28 states: See locations closing in your state
- Kansas women killed amid custody battle found buried in cow pasture freezer: Court docs
- City strikes deal to sell its half of soon-to-be-former Oakland A’s coliseum
- Most popular books of the week: See what topped USA TODAY's bestselling books list
- US intelligence agencies’ embrace of generative AI is at once wary and urgent
- New college grads face a cooling job market. Here's where the jobs are.
- 10 bodies found scattered around Mexico's resort city of Acapulco
Recommendation
'Most Whopper
Dwayne The Rock Johnson Looks Unrecognizable as UFC Champ Mark Kerr in The Smashing Machine
Top Apple exec acknowledges shortcomings in effort to bring competition in iPhone app payments
Pitbull reacts to 'Give Me Everything' song in 'Bridgerton' carriage scene: 'Timeless'
Blake Lively’s Inner Circle Shares Rare Insight on Her Life as a Mom to 4 Kids
'We aren't happy': women's tennis star Coco Gauff criticizes political state of Florida
Viral Four Seasons baby takes internet by storm: 'She's so little but so grown'
Jessica Lange talks 'Mother Play,' Hollywood and why she nearly 'walked away from it all'