California restores voting rights for felons on parole

LOS ANGELES: Voters in California have approved a ballot measure that will allow felons on parole to vote in elections, according to results published Wednesday.

Under Proposition 17, people on parole for felony convictions will be allowed to take part in elections once their state or federal prison term ends.

Currently, the state's constitution prohibits that segment of the population from voting until both their prison term and parole periods are completed.

The measure will affect about 50,000 Californians, according to state officials.

The initiative was backed by 59 percent of voters in Tuesday's election, according to a projection by the Los Angeles Times.

It was supported by California senator and Democratic vice presidential nominee Kamala Harris and US congressman Kevin McCarthy, a Californian who authored the proposal.

"Prop. 17 gives Californians the chance to right a wrong and restore voting rights for a marginalized community and people of color," McCarty said. "This is good for democracy and good for public safety."

Opponents of the measure, including the California Republican Party, had denounced it as an "affront" to crime victims.

The initiative was put forth as the United States has been grappling with widespread protests over police violence and racism in recent months.

"This is a victory for democracy and justice," Taina Vargas-Edmond, executive chair of the Yes On Prop 17 campaign and co-founder and executive director of Initiate Justice, an organization that has championed ending felony disenfranchisement, said in a statement.

"For far too long, Black and brown Californians have been excluded from our democracy.

"Today, California voters definitively righted a historic wrong."

Nineteen other states, including Colorado, Illinois and Michigan, allow voting by people with felony convictions who are on parole.

Two states as well as the nation's capital, Washington DC, allow felons to vote while they are still incarcerated.