Attorneys want the US Supreme Court to say Mississippi’s felony voting ban is cruel and unusual

Associated Press

JACKSON, Miss. (AP) — Mississippi’s practice of removing voting rights for certain felonies is cruel and unusual. That is the argument attorneys are making in a new filing with the U.S. Supreme Court. They are asking justices to overturn the state’s practice that dates back to the Jim Crow era. Most of the people affected are disenfranchised for life because Mississippi provides few options for restoring ballot access, even after the completion of prison time. The Supreme Court in 2023 rejected another lawsuit that challenged Mississippi’s felony disenfranchisement. That case made different legal arguments. In the current case, a federal appeals court wrote changes to state law should be made by legislators, not judges.