Eric Holder: Change Laws So Ex-Convicts Can Vote

[USA Today] Attorney General Eric Holder is calling Tuesday for the repeal of state laws that restrict the voting rights of millions of former prison inmates.

In a speech to the Leadership Conference on Civil and Human Rights at Georgetown University Law Center, Holder said it is “time to fundamentally re-think laws that permanently disenfranchise people who are no longer under federal or state supervision.”

“These restrictions are not only unnecessary and unjust, they are also counterproductive,” the attorney general said. “By perpetuating the stigma and isolation imposed on formerly incarcerated individuals, the laws increase the likelihood they will commit future crimes.”

The proposal is an extension of a broader plan first announced by Holder last year to revamp the U.S. criminal justice system, including the re-integration of thousands of former offenders who are returning to communities every year from prison.

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