Gov. Cuomo orders voting rights restored for parolees

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ALBANY — New York state will restore the voting rights of parolees under an executive order issued Wednesday by Democratic Gov. Andrew Cuomo that will impact as many as 35,000 New Yorkers who have served time for felonies.

The move adds New York to a list of more than a dozen states and the District of Columbia that give convicted felons the right to vote once they have completed their prison sentences. Republicans immediately slammed the move as bad public policy and potentially illegal, since Cuomo chose to circumvent the Legislature.

Cuomo said the voting prohibition disproportionately impacts minorities, noting that nearly three-fourths of those currently on parole in New York are black or Latino. He said giving people back the right to vote can be one way of helping them re-establish ties to their communities as law-abiding citizens.

“It is unconscionable to deny voting rights to New Yorkers who have paid their debt and have re-entered society,” Cuomo said. “This reform will reduce disenfranchisement and will help restore justice and fairness to our democratic process. Withholding or delaying voting rights diminishes our democracy.”


More: http://poststar.com/news/state-and-regional/gov-cuomo-orders-voting-rights-restored-for-parolees/article_f53a7a0b-6ee1-5a10-adb5-d236b3a635b6.html