credit: Evening Times UK

In an article that is part of a series on disenfranchisement, it talks about how Mississippi will become the state that disenfranchises the highest share of its residents.

According to a Sentencing Project report, nearly 10 percent of Mississippi’s otherwise eligible residents were disenfranchised in 2016 because of a past felony conviction.

Mississippi permanently disenfranchises anyone convicted of one of 22 offenses, which range from perjury and theft to murder.

To get back their voting rights, even after they have completed their sentence, individuals need the governor to issue a pardon or the legislature to adopt legislation in the form of a suffrage bill that enfranchises them individually.

Daniel Nichanian, who writes the series on disenfranchisement, shares his thoughts on the confusion surrounding the disenfranchisement rules and lack of adequate communication on the part of public authorities, which has become a problem, not only in Mississippi but also nationwide.

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