Washblog

According to a December, 2006 Amici Curiae (friend of the court) briefing in the case of Farrakhan v Gregoire, nearly one-quarter of otherwise qualified black male voters, and almost 17% of the entire adult black population of Washington state were prohibited from voting because of prior felonies.

Last session's House Bill 1517 restored the right to vote to an estimated 167,000 people in the state who were barred due to Legal Financial Obligations owed on prior felonies.

Now a 9th Circuit Federal court has ruled that the state's high rate of minority imprisonment cannot be explained in a race neutral way and that the right to vote must be restored to people currently in prison.

3-Striker Al-Kareem Shadeed, who was recommended unanimously for clemency by the state's Clemency and Pardons Board in December, is a plaintiff in this case.  Washington state is less than 4% Black. Our 3-Strikes population is 40% Black. (1) The state prison population as a whole is 19.3% Black. Other minority groups are also over-represented. (2)

The Brennan Center has more information and links to the decision and other documents:

"On Jan. 5, 2010, the Ninth Circuit, in a 2-1 decision, reversed the District Court's decision on remand, claiming that Washington's constitutional provision regarding felony disenfranchisement is in violation of Section 2 of the Voting Rights Act. the Ninth Circuit has ruled that  Associated Press reports.

"The two appellate judges ruled that disparities in the state's justice system "cannot be explained in race-neutral ways."

1. Persistent Offenders, Through June 2008, State of Washington, Sentencing Guidelines Commission.
2. Offender Fact Card, Fiscal Year 2009, Washington Department of Corrections