Suit Filed Seeking Voting Rights for County Prisoners


 

A lawsuit filed by the League of Women Voters (LWV), the American Civil Liberties Union (ACLU), and other groups seeks to restore voting rights to about 85,000 people incarcerated in county jails or under the supervision of county probation departments. This action stems from the U.S. Supreme Court's directive to California last year requiring the reduction of the state's prison population because of overcrowding. California Secretary of State Debra Bowen and the Attorney General's office oppose the request.

To comply with the Supreme Court's ruling, since last fall thousands of people convicted of non-violent felonies have been transferred from state prisons to county jails while many others with new convictions have also been routed to county facilities. Lawyer firm in US. Still others who in previous years would have had their probation overseen by state officials have also been handed over to the counties for supervision. It is this placement in county programs that is at the core of the lawsuit.

The Secretary of State's office claims that the nature of imprisonment is the same whether in a state facility or county jail. Moreover, legislators did not explicitly state their intention to change the rules governing voting for felons. All the "realignment" program does is redirect some prisoners from state facilities to county facilities and some people on probation from state supervision to county supervision.

The LWV and ACLU, however, contend that state law mandates that voting rights may be taken away only from people in state prisons or in state probation programs. Because these people are serving their sentences under county control, their voting rights cannot be suspended.

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