The Epoch Times
The Epoch Times
AD
The Epoch Times
Support Us
SHARE
USUS News

North Carolina Court Restores Voting Rights to Felons on Probation or Parole

Copy
Facebook
X
Truth
Gettr
LinkedIn
Telegram
Email
Save
North Carolina Court Restores Voting Rights to Felons on Probation or Parole
Residents arrive at a polling station to vote in Charlotte, N.C., on Nov. 6, 2018. Logan Cyrus/AFP via Getty Images
Isabel van Brugen
By Isabel van Brugen
8/24/2021Updated: 8/24/2021

Some 56,000 North Carolina felons who are on parole, probation, or supervised release, will have their voting rights restored, a judicial panel said on Monday.

The 2–1 ruling, in a state Superior Court in Raleigh, immediately reinstates voting rights to North Carolina residents convicted of felonies but whose current punishments don’t include prison time.

The decision followed a lawsuit filed by several civil rights groups and ex-offenders against legislative leaders and state officials in November 2019 on behalf of six individuals and nonprofit organizations.

They argued the current 1973 law is unconstitutional by denying the right to vote to people who have completed their active sentences or received no such sentence, such as people on probation. They also said the rules disproportionately affect black residents.

The North Carolina State Board of Elections issued a statement saying that the decision means it “must immediately begin to permit such individuals to register to vote.”

“State Board staff will work as quickly as possible to update communication materials and all forms and documents to comply with the order. Staff are also working with the Department of Public Safety to update data the State Board receives regarding individuals who are ineligible to register to vote due to a felony conviction,” the board added.

“Everyone on felony probation, parole, or post-supervision release can now register and vote, starting today,” the lead attorney for the plaintiffs, Stanton Jones, said following the ruling, The News & Observer reported.

Monday’s ruling “delivers on a promise of justice by the North Carolina N.A.A.C.P. a half century ago, that all people living in communities across the state deserve to have their voices heard in elections,” he added, according to The New York Times.

One lawyer said the ruling marks the largest expansion of voting rights in the state since the 1960s.

“When I heard the ruling, I wanted to run in the street and tell everybody that now you have a voice,” said Diana Powell with Justice Served NC, a Raleigh-based community group that sued. “I am so excited for this historic day.”

Isabel van Brugen
Isabel van Brugen
Reporter
Isabel van Brugen is an award-winning journalist. She holds a master's in newspaper journalism from City, University of London.
twitter
Author’s Selected Articles

US Has ‘Credible’ Information Russia Executed Ukrainians Trying to Surrender in Donetsk

Apr 28, 2022
US Has ‘Credible’ Information Russia Executed Ukrainians Trying to Surrender in Donetsk

Moldova Explosions Raise Fears Separatist Region Could be Drawn into Ukraine War

Apr 28, 2022
Moldova Explosions Raise Fears Separatist Region Could be Drawn into Ukraine War

US Marshal-Led Operation Sees Over 700 Arrested in Mississippi

Apr 28, 2022
US Marshal-Led Operation Sees Over 700 Arrested in Mississippi

CDC, FDA Workers Observed Incidents of Political Interference: Report

Apr 28, 2022
CDC, FDA Workers Observed Incidents of Political Interference: Report
Related Topics
voting
Parole
probation
North Carolina
felons
Save
The Epoch Times
Copyright © 2000 - 2025 The Epoch Times Association Inc. All Rights Reserved.