Eric Holder, Rand Paul Unite on Restoring Voting Rights
U.S. Sen. Rand Paul urged a Kentucky Senate committee to restore voting rights to people with past criminal convictions. His testimony comes one week after Attorney General Eric Holder called on states to restore rights.
Today, U.S. Sen. Rand Paul (R-Ky.) testified before a Kentucky Senate committee in support of restoring voting rights to people with past criminal convictions. Paul’s testimony comes one week after Attorney General Eric Holder called on states to restore rights. The senator has also indicated plans to push rights restoration on the federal level.
Experts from the Brennan Center for Justice at NYU School of Law — including Myrna Pérez and Nicole Austin-Hillery — are available for your coverage of this important issue and how it relates to recent bipartisan breakthroughs on voting reform.
“Nearly 6 million Americans are barred from voting because of a criminal conviction in their past,” said Pérez. “Three states, including Kentucky, permanently disenfranchise these citizens. America can do better. Citizens with criminal convictions who are living and working in our communities should have the responsibility and the right to participate in our democracy by voting. Congress should act quickly to pass the Democracy Restoration Act, which would restore voting rights in federal elections to those who have served their time.”
View the Brennan Center’s proposal to restore voting rights upon release from incarceration, and our state-by-state guide on criminal disenfranchisement laws. Read more on the Democracy Restoration Act.
For more information, or to set up an interview, please contact Erik Opsal at erik.opsal@nyu.edu or 646–292–8356.