Iowa Supreme Court considering voting rights for felons case

[47of74]

Some news out of Des Moines today;

During oral arguments Wednesday, justices seemed divided and puzzled over how to interpret an 1857 provision in the Iowa Constitution that disenfranchises those convicted of "infamous crimes."

At stake is voting rights for 57,000 felons who've been disqualified from participating in Iowa elections or holding public office.

The American Civil Liberties Union, NAACP and the elections commissioner of Iowa's largest county asked the court to define infamous crimes as only those that are particularly serious and an "affront to democratic governance." That definition would restore voting rights to most felons and potentially some inmates.

But an attorney for the state argued all felonies should be considered infamous.

I think that absolutely everyone 18 or older should be allowed to vote. Without exception. Even felons and mentally disabled people.

[rurallib]

1. Good - aren't Iowa and Mississippi the only states that don't allow

former felons to vote?