00:00Let's say you got drunk and drove head-on and killed a family of four and it's vehicular manslaughter.
00:06You think that the day they step out of prison, they've not made any restitution,
00:11they've not paid their court costs, and you think that person should vote.
00:15This is State Senator Mark Peake of Virginia.
00:17He's among those opposing an amendment to the state constitution.
00:20And that's what's on the ballot as Question 3, a referendum in the upcoming midterm elections.
00:24Civil rights activists see Question 3 as an important step forward.
00:28People convicted of a felony would automatically regain their voting rights after leaving prison.
00:34In the U.S., an estimated 4 million citizens are barred from voting because of felony convictions.
00:39Voting rights are determined by individual states and the rules vary widely.
00:42In Vermont, Maine, and Washington, D.C., even people in prison can vote.
00:46Other states automatically restore voting rights after a sentence is completed.
00:50Some impose additional requirements.
00:52And in some states, people convicted of certain crimes can only regain their voting rights with government approval.
00:57The legislative history in states like Virginia, Mississippi, and Alabama, all states in the South,
01:03is clear that at the time that those state constitution rioters were rewriting their efforts to be readmitted back to
01:12the United States,
01:13that they used felony as a proxy for blackness to continue to exclude black residents, black men from the vote,
01:21and to dilute the black electorate.
01:22Quad Air Patterson had his voting rights restored by the governor after having served 16 years in prison on a
01:28robbery charge.
01:29Sometimes giving an incarcerated person a second chance is actually their first chance at having the life they choose.
01:36Should Virginians decide to formally change their constitution,
01:40this could also make the justice system more inclusive, say its proponents.
01:44A person is to stand trial in front of a jury of their peers.
01:50Currently, no justice impacted or incarcerated survivor has a peer that could serve on the jury.
01:59Year 10.
01:59Gracias por ver el video.
