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Appeals court rules felony offenders can't be prosecuted for voting unlawfully by mistake
The court confirmed the law's origins in racial discrimination and acknowledged it caused confusion among eligible voters, deterring re-registration, especially harming Black ex-defendants.
- In April 2024, a federal appeals court unanimously ruled North Carolina's law criminalizing felony offenders who unknowingly voted before completing sentences unconstitutional.
- The law originated in 1877, imposing harsh penalties on felony offenders and retaining a discriminatory taint linked to post-Civil War racial suppression of Black voters.
- Plaintiffs advocating on behalf of low-income communities and Black labor union members asserted that the still-effective pre-2024 statute continued to expose individuals to potential prosecution and necessitated efforts to inform voters who remained apprehensive.
- Circuit Judge DeAndrea Gist Benjamin, in her opinion, highlighted that the elections board acknowledged the 1899 law is unjustifiable, while Melvin Montford stated the ruling affirms the law’s racist origins.
- The ruling halts the enforcement of the outdated law, a leftover from Jim Crow used to suppress Black voters, although the state may still challenge the decision through higher courts, including the full Fourth Circuit or the Supreme Court.
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Appeals court rules felony offenders can't be prosecuted for voting unlawfully by mistake
A federal appeals court has ruled that a North Carolina law making it a crime for felony offenders to vote before completing their punishments without knowing they were breaking the law is unconstitutional.
·United States
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Total News Sources11
Leaning Left6Leaning Right1Center4Last UpdatedBias Distribution55% Left
Bias Distribution
- 55% of the sources lean Left
55% Left
L 55%
C 36%
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