Denounced as Going 'Too Far' When Sanders Said It—American Bar Association Backs Full Voting Rights for Incarcerated People
Bolstering a proposal which was denounced by centrists and conservatives as going "too far" in the fight for voting rights when Sen. Bernie Sanders backed it during the Democratic presidential primary, the American Bar Association won applause from rights advocates on Thursday regarding its support for full enfranchisement for current and former prison inmates.
At its annual meeting earlier this month, the ABA adopted a resolution stating the organization would urge all levels of government to "repeal laws that disenfranchise persons based upon criminal conviction [and] restore voting rights to those currently and formerly incarcerated, including those on probation, parole, or any other community-based correctional program."
The national lawyers' association further said (pdf) that "no person convicted of crime" should be disenfranchised in the U.S. because of failure to pay fines, court fees, or other payments as a result of their conviction.
Parisa Dehghani-Tafti, who was elected last year to be commonwealth's attorney, the top prosecutor for Arlington and Falls Church, Virginia was among the reform-minded attorneys who applauded the resolution—and wondered why she was criticized during her campaign for expressing support for prisoner's voting rights.
"Glad to see that 'radical' organization, the ABA, joined the fight," tweeted Dehghani-Tafti.
Common Dreams
https://www.google.com/amp/s/www.commondreams.org/news/2020/08/14/denounced-going-too-far-when-sanders-said-it-american-bar-association-backs-full%3famp
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