Right to vote restored for felony offenders
Donald F. Jones of Gulfport lost his right to vote 36 years ago after his felony conviction for grand larceny.
Jones had that right restored Thursday, after Gov. Phil Bryant allowed House Bill 652 to become law without his signature.
In Mississippi, the only way to restore the right to vote after a a felony conviction is by the Legislature passing a suffrage bill. Only three people were approved to have their voting rights restored this year.
“It means a whole lot to me,” Jones said Thursday.
“I’m 63 and have never voted in my life. Voting and the political process had been of no concern to me since I couldn’t vote, but it will be now.”
Jones said he doesn’t know yet when he will cast his first vote in an election.
He said he only recently learned about the process of having the right restored.
State Rep. Sonya Williams-Barnes, D-Gulfport, said she was proud to file the bill to restore Jones’ right to vote.
“He came to me and requested it,” Williams-Barnes said. “I think people should have the right to vote after serving their debt to society. The right to vote is important to me and has always been important in my upbringing. ... I hope one day that we allow some of those convicted of felonies to have their right to vote restored automatically after serving their sentence.”
The bill says, “The right of suffrage is hereby fully and completely restored to Donald F. Jones of Harrison County, Mississippi, who was disqualified as an elector as a result of his conviction of grand larceny in Wayne County, Mississippi, in 1978, and who has completed the penalty and any conditions imposed upon him for such conviction. The Legislature has been reliably informed that he is now conducting himself as a law-abiding and honorable citizen in a good and lawful manner.”
In addition to Jones, the Legislature restored the right to vote to Michael Todd Manual of Rankin County, who was convicted of embezzlement in Forrest County in 1999, and Randall Lamar Bolton of Panola County, who was convicted of grand larceny in 1980.
The Sentencing Project, a nonprofit group, says an estimated 5.85 million people nationwide can’t vote because of felony convictions.
But a number of states have taken steps to reform felony disenfranchisement policies to restore voting rights to individuals for whom they were previously denied, according to the Sentencing Project.
The group says some states, including several in the South, have repealed or amended lifetime disenfranchisement laws.
To contact Jimmie E. Gates, call (601) 961-7212 or follow @jgatesnews on Twitter.
Other bills due from the governor Thursday or today include:
• HB 801: Allows the sampling of alcoholic beverages at package stores
• HB 846: Creates a Mississippi Qualified Disposition Trust account
• HB 864: Requires a permit to transport wild hogs on public roads
• HB 974: Allows local school boards, subject to rules and regulations of the State Board of Education, to use other forms of transportation than school buses to events such as Future Farmers of America or 4-H Clubs
• HB 1328: Creates the Small Business and Grocery Investment Act. The aim is to provide a dedicated source of financing for healthy food retailers operating in underserved communities in Mississippi.