Simplified process to allow ex-felons to vote again still alive

NASHVILLE (AP) — There’s still hope for a bill that would make it easier for ex-felons to restore their voting rights after an attempt to kill the legislation failed in the House on Tuesday.

The bill sponsored by Rep. Larry Turner, D-Memphis, failed in the House last week and a “motion to reject” was called, meaning lawmakers could vote to prevent the bill from being reconsidered this session or the next.

But legislators voted against the motion on Tuesday, and the bill was returned to the Calendar and Rules Committee, where it has a chance of being placed back on the House floor this week. Lawmakers are hoping to adjourn the session by Friday.

“Now it’s in a good position to try to get the votes,” said Speaker Pro Tem Lois DeBerry, D-Memphis, and a supporter of the bill.

Critics of the current restoration system say the process is cumbersome because whether an individual can vote depends on the circumstances and the year the crime was committed.

For instance, there’s one process for someone was convicted of a crime on June 30, 1986, and a totally different process for a person convicted a day later.

The bill would allow individuals who have been granted final release from prison or supervision by the parole board to receive restoration of citizenship rights by way of a certificate.

Gov. Phil Bredesen has said he prefers a measure that requires probationary periods to be completed.

The legislation would prohibit restoration of voting rights for persons convicted of first-degree murder, aggravated rape, a felony sexual offense, treason or voter fraud.

In order to save the bill, Turner told his colleagues he would be willing to send it back to the House Judiciary Committee. But DeBerry said Turner actually got a better deal.

“If it had gone back to Judiciary, it would have to go through the entire procedure again,” she said.

Forty-six states and the District of Columbia have laws depriving inmates of the right to vote to some extent. In more than a dozen states, ex-offenders who have fully served their sentences can be disenfranchised for life.

Nationwide, about 4.7 million people are ineligible to vote because of a felony conviction, according to The Sentencing Project, an advocacy group in Washington.

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On the Net:

Read HB1722/SB1678 at http://www.legislature.state.tn.us/