The Unfinished Work of the Voting Rights Act
On the 53rd anniversary of the Voting Rights Act, it’s worth remembering that ensuring the right to vote was hard fought in Alabama.
When the violent, tear gas-filled images of Alabama State Troopers beating voting rights marchers in Selma were beamed into homes across America by the nightly news, it helped pave the way for the landmark federal legislation protecting the right to vote.
…
In Alabama, however, a felony conviction does not disenfranchise a resident for life. And it’s a message people need to hear. That’s why the Campaign Legal Center and the Southern Poverty Law Center launched the Alabama Voting Rights Project, a campaign to re-enfranchise this population that is often overlooked and left behind — Alabamians with felony convictions.