Breaking News: En Banc Second Circuit Court Holds NY
Felon Disenfranchisement Law Does Not Violate Section 2 of Voting
Rights Act
Howard Bashman offers this report:
En banc U.S. Court of Appeals for the Second Circuit holds that
the federal Voting Rights Act does not apply to New York's prisoner
disenfranchisement law: Thirteen judges participated in today's
ruling, which consists of ten separate opinions.
The majority opinion explains, "Our holding is based on our conclusion
that Congress did not intend or understand the Voting Rights Act to
encompass such felon disenfranchisement statutes, that application of
the Voting Rights Act to felon disenfranchisement statutes such as
these would alter the constitutional balance between the States and the
Federal Government, and that Congress at the very least did not clearly
indicate that it intended the Voting Rights Act to alter the federal
balance in this way."
In a second, related case, the en banc Second Circuit today
unanimously dismissed
the case because the plaintiff lacked standing.
Perhaps this will get the attention of the Supreme Court, especially
given the circuit split (with the en banc Eleventh Circuit agreeing
with this new Second Circuit opinion and the Ninth Circuit (over a
dissent from a denial of en banc rehearing) holding that section 2 can
allow for challenges to felon disenfranchisement laws). On the other
hand, given my belief that the Supreme Court would likely agree with
the Second Circuit (for some reasons I discuss
here),
perhaps the Supreme Court will wait for the Ninth Circuit case to make
its way back to the Surpreme Court (that case is currently before the
district court on remand from the Ninth Circuit).