Felons In Prison Should Be Able To Vote In Washington State, Federal Judges Rule

Felons In Prison Should Be Able To Vote In Washington State, Federal Judges Rule

OLYMPIA, Wash. — Incarcerated felons should be allowed to vote in Washington to ensure that racial minorities are protected under the Voting Rights Act, a federal appeals court ruled Tuesday.

The 2-1 ruling by a three-judge panel of the 9th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals means the more than 18,000 felons behind bars in the state could get back their right to vote – without having to wait until they are released from prison and are no longer on probation or parole. The ruling also could open the door to similar lawsuits in the 9th Circuit's eight other states and two territories.

The issues it raises about racial bias in the justice system are not unique to Washington, said Marc Mauer, executive director of The Sentencing Project, a Washington, D.C., group promoting sentencing reform.

"They are issues that permeate the justice system and are relevant in every state," he said, adding that an estimated 5.3 million people nationwide are ineligible to vote because of felony convictions.

The panel's ruling overturned a 2000 decision by a district judge in Spokane. That judge had found that Washington's felon disenfranchisement law didn't violate the Voting Rights Act, and had dismissed a lawsuit filed by a former prison inmate from Bellevue.

The two appellate judges ruled that disparities in the state's justice system "cannot be explained in race-neutral ways." ....

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Farrakhan's lead attorney, Gonzaga University School of Law professor Larry Weiser, equated some disenfranchisement laws to poll taxes and literacy tests of the past. He said Washington state's criminal justice system "is biased against African-Americans, and the impact has been a violation of their voting rights."

The state argued the lawsuit should be dismissed because the law was not intended to discriminate against minorities.

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In her dissent, 9th Circuit Judge Margaret McKeown wrote that the majority "has charted territory that none of our sister circuits has dared to explore." She noted that three other appellate courts – the 1st Circuit in a Massachusetts case, the 2nd Circuit in a New York case, and the 11th Circuit in a Florida case – "have all determined that vote denial challenges to felon disenfranchisement laws are not cognizable under the Voting Rights Act."

Felon voters were central to a Republican court challenge to the results of Washington state's 2004 gubernatorial race. The challenge focused heavily on votes cast by felons who hadn't had their rights restored. Gov. Chris Gregoire beat Republican Dino Rossi by 133 votes after two recounts and the unsuccessful court challenge.