Rep. Ayanna Pressley of Massachusetts and Sen. Peter Welch of Vermont submitted the legislation, named the Inclusive Democracy Act, on Tuesday which would guarantee the right to vote in federal elections for all citizens regardless of their criminal record.

In a statement, Pressley said the legislation was necessary due to policies and court rulings that “continue to disenfranchise voters from all walks of life — including by gutting the Voting Rights Act, gerrymandering, cuts to early voting, and more.” Welch called the bill necessary due to “antiquated state felony disenfranchisement laws.”

In late 2022, approximately 4.6 million people were unable to vote due to a felony conviction, according to a study by the Sentencing Project, a nonpartisan research group. The same study found that Black and Hispanic citizens are disproportionately likely to be disenfranchised due to felony

  • @_dev_null@lemmy.zxcvn.xyz
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    97 months ago

    Make a new permanent US penal colony, call it New Australia, located in Texas. TX as been wanting to secede anyway, let’s give them a helping hand. Deport all seditionists there with all visa/passport privileges being revoked.

    And the final chef’s-kiss: Enact all of the cruel immigration laws against New Australia that they’ve been wanting so bad, see how they like it.

    • @Jax@sh.itjust.works
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      27 months ago

      Hmmm, the more I think about it the more I like this plan. I vote for New Australia. It fits U.S. naming conventions too!