Restoration of Rights

Civil Rights

This article is about restoration of voting rights. Previously we discussed gun rights here. This is about your right to vote after you have been convicted of a crime.

Without going into a history lesson, the United States Constitution did not originally guarantee a right to vote. Although amendments and Court decisions have changed this drastically, there is still one class that is disenfranchised: felons.

You may qualify for an expungement; which we discussed here . However, the list of expungable felonies is short. Are you or someone you know convicted of an unexpungeable felony in Mississippi? Consider the following…

“A person convicted of murder, rape, bribery, theft, arson, obtaining money or goods under false pretense, perjury, forgery, embezzlement or bigamy is no longer considered a qualified elector” (Miss. Const. Art. 12, § 241).

You regain voting rights automatically if not one of these convictions. Even if you have one of these convictions, the governor can pardon you (Miss. Code Ann. § 47-7-41) or the Mississippi legislature can vote by two-thirds in both houses to restore your voting rights (Miss. Const. Art. 12, § 253)

When you have any questions, call us to see if we can be of any assistance to you or someone you know.

Panter Law Firm, PLLC, 7736 Old Canton Road, Suite B, Madison, MS 39110, 

601-607-3156

www.craigpanterlaw.com

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