Topic: disenfranchisement

ACLU sues over Tennessee’s felon disenfranchisement law‏

By Terry McMoore | March 3, 2008 |

The American Civil Liberties Union of Tennessee (ACLU-TN), joined by the national ACLU Voting Rights Project, filed a lawsuit today in federal court challenging the state’s 2006 law that made the restoration of voting rights for people convicted of crimes contingent on the payment of all outstanding legal financial obligations (LFOs), namely restitution and child support fees.

According to the ACLU’s lawsuit, requiring some individuals to bear anundue financial burden before voting is tantamount to a poll tax in violation of the constitutional right to vote and the Fourteenth Amendment’s equal protection clause. “The legal financial obligations provision creates an undue burden on the voting rights of the economically disadvantaged,” said ACLU-TN Cooperating Attorney Charles Grant, of Baker Donelson Bearman Caldwell & Berkowitz. “Although not intended, these provisions harken back to a time when Blacks, the poor and other marginalized groups were required to pay poll taxes for the privilege to vote. We are hopeful the courtwill protect the rights of all Tennessee voters, not just the ones who can afford to buy back their franchise.” «Read the rest of this article»

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ACLU-TN Right to Vote Conference

By Terry McMoore | April 19, 2007 |

The American Civil Liberties Union of Tennessee (ACLU-TN) is holding a Right To Vote Conference entitled Breaking the Chains: From Jail Cell to Voting Booth on Thursday, May 3, from 8:30 to 4:30 at the United Steelworkers Union Hall (3340 Perimeter Hill Drive).

Conference highlights include:

• Marc Mauer addressing The US Record on Punishment (The Sentencing Project, Washington, DC);
• Jeff Manza discussing key findings published in his book Locked Out, Felon Disenfranchisement and American Democracy (Northwestern University, Evanston, IL);
• Rachel Bloom contrasting international disenfranchisement practices with the US record (National ACLU, Washington, DC); and
• Nancy Abudu highlighting pending challenges to the child support and restitution provisions of the current Tennessee law (ACLU Southern Voting Rights Project, Atlanta, GA).

Workshops are designed to:

• Answer attorney and paralegal questions about the new law and share methods for addressing voter restoration issues (CLE credits available);
•  Offer agencies, organizations and churches strategies to help former felons register to vote (CEU credits available);
• Help former felons and their family members to improve their public speaking skills to better persuade the public to support voter re-enfranchisement.

For further information or to register contact the ACLU-TN Right to Vote Campaign at 615-320-7143 or rtv@aclu-tn.org, or visit the website at www.aclu-tn.org.

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