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Thursday, April 21, 2011
Ind. Law - "Should those jailed for minor crimes have voting rights?"
For background, see this Feb. 24, 2011 ILB entry, which includes links to earlier ILB entries on states that prohibit felons from voting -- Indiana's prohibition applies to all incarcerated persons, whether imprisoned for a felony, or a misdemeanor.
The oral argument today is in David Snyder v. J. Bradley King, et al, where, pursuant to Indiana Appellate Rule 64, the United States District Court for the Southern District of Indiana certified the following question of Indiana law for the Indiana Supreme Court's consideration, which the Indiana Supreme Court accepted on February 11, 2011. The question, as framed by the district court, is:
Does the term "infamous crime" as used in Article II, Section 8, of the Indiana Constitution include conviction of and imprisonment for a misdemeanor battery, so as to permit removal of the convicted person's voter registration from the official list of registered voters pursuant to Indiana Code ยงยง 3-7-13-4 and 3-7-46-1 and -2?This morning's Indianapolis Star carried a lengthy, complete with graphics, story by Carrie Ritchie on the upcoming argument, and on the issue. Some quotes:
Most states, including Indiana, take away voting rights of people convicted, sentenced and jailed for felonies.There is much more to the story.Indiana is among only 10 states that extend that practice to misdemeanors.
Whether that goes too far -- whether people sent to jail for such crimes as public intoxication and shoplifting should be denied the right to vote -- is a matter before the Indiana Supreme Court.
The law raises many potential voter disenfranchisement issues. Among them: An Indianapolis Star analysis of voting records showed that the majority of those knocked off the voter rolls in Marion County are minorities and live in disproportionately lower-income neighborhoods.
And it has political repercussions.
The Star obtained the names and addresses of 1,113 Marion County voters who were disqualified from 2006 to 2010 because they were incarcerated after a criminal conviction. Of those, more than 92 percent lived in disproportionately Democratic precincts.
Issues such as race or political persuasion, however, are not the critical question before the court. The lawsuit centers on defining an "infamous crime," a term that dates to the state's 1816 constitution.
The constitution says people convicted of an "infamous crime" may lose the right to vote. A state law traced to the 1840s says people who are incarcerated after a criminal conviction lose the right to vote.
The state has interpreted the law to include anyone who does time for a misdemeanor or felony.
But according to the lawsuit, that interpretation is unconstitutional. The lawsuit contends that misdemeanors are not "infamous crimes," so only felons should lose the right to vote.
The state counters that "infamous crime" could mean any crime for which someone is incarcerated. * * *
Attorney Bill Groth, who represents the plaintiff, expects the court to reach a decision before the judges take a summer recess in late June.
A federal court sent the case to the Indiana Supreme Court earlier this year, partly because there is "no clear controlling Indiana precedent" on the issue.
When county voter registration offices are informed of someone being sentenced to jail or prison, they remove the person from voting rolls.
People can re-register to vote once they serve their time.
And you may watch the video of today's oral argument here.
Posted by Marcia Oddi on April 21, 2011 12:59 PM
Posted to Indiana Law