California proposal would reinstate prisoners’ voting rights
By STEFANIE DAZIO
Associated Press
LOS ANGELES (AP) — California could reinstate voting rights to felons while they are in prison in a major expansion of suffrage for incarcerated people if a bill currently before the state legislature passes despite an uphill battle. California would join Maine and Vermont, as well as the District of Columbia, as the only states where felons never lose their right to vote, even while they are in prison. Two-thirds of each chamber of the state legislature must vote yes for the bill just for it to appear on the ballot as a proposition. Voters must then approve it by a simple majority for it to become a constitutional amendment.
