JEFFERSON CITY —State Sen. Jamilah Nasheed, D-St. Louis, today announced that she is co-sponsoring Senate Bill 924 with State Sen. Rob Schaaf, R-St. Joseph, stating “this historic bipartisan legislation benefits the whole state.”
Senate Bill 924, also called the Restoration of Voting Rights Act, would allow Missouri citizens convicted of a felony and on probation or parole to vote. The bill would not apply to those convicted of voter fraud, but would also impact more than 60,000 Missouri voters who are currently disenfranchised by law.
“Probation and parole are meant to prevent citizens convicted of crimes from doing bad things – not good things, like voting,” Sen. Schaaf declared, also saying that, “not only does the current law undermine our democratic system, but it disproportionately affects African-Americans, a group that has already been the object of far too much legal discrimination.”
Senator Schaaf said, “if this bill becomes law, Missouri will join 15 states that already extend suffrage to citizens serving terms of probation or parole. Such policy is supported by prominent advocacy groups with authority on the matter, including the American Bar Association, the American Law Institute, and the American Probation and Parole Association.”
For more information about Sen. Nasheed visit her Senate website at www.senate.mo.gov/nasheed.