Hacker News Reader

HNHacker News

Top New Best Ask Show Jobs

Comment by coopsmoss | Hacker News Reader

Parent Full thread

coopsmoss·

I still find it abhorrent that incarcerated people can't vote in the US. That seems so obviously exploitable.

View on HN

As with so many generalizations about the U.S., it's more complicated than that, and varies on a state-by-state basis.

Most people in jail retain the right to vote, regardless of state.

People currently in prison on felony charges CANNOT vote in most states, but this is up to each state. In many states, you get your enfranchisement restored after completing your sentence.

https://www.thoughtco.com/where-felons-can-and-cannot-vote-3...

>Most people in jail retain the right to vote, regardless of state.

They may have the right to vote. Whether the facility lets it actually happen is another matter.

Not only this, but in many cases felons permanently lose their right to vote, even after they serve their sentence.

Edit: I stand corrected, this is true in some states but not others.

You may want to see this:

https://www.aclu.org/issues/voting-rights/voter-restoration/...

I stand corrected. Thanks for this.

I used to think the same thing, until I read an article that made me look into it. The article I read was a local affair that pointed out that inmates are encouraged (in my state, Maine) to file absentee ballots in the town they lived in prior to incarceration.

There are just a couple of states that allow that, but I learned that quite a few jurisdictions restore rights after incarceration, after probation, etc...

Voters should select their politicians.

Not the opposite!

And even when people vote to try and correct it (Florida), the GOP find some other reason to stop it.

Reply on news.ycombinator.com