Voting Rights Act Passes Committee and Heads to Senate Floor
JEFFERSON CITY — Legislation sponsored by State Sen. Jamilah Nasheed, D-St. Louis, to potentially restore voting rights to tens of thousands of Missourians now heads to the Senate floor after being passed by committee.
Senate Bill 542, also known as the Missouri Restoration of Voting Rights Act, was passed by the Senate’s Judiciary and Civil and Criminal Jurisprudence Committee on March 2. The legislation seeks to restore voting rights to individuals convicted of a non-violent felony and who are on probation and parole in Missouri, by removing the legal barrier on these individuals from voting. Also passed by the committee was Senate Joint Resolution 61, a proposed constitutional amendment which, if passed by Missouri voters, would enact similar provisions to SB 542.
Senator Nasheed is excited to see these proposals moving through the legislative process.
“As former Supreme Court Chief Justice Earl Warren wrote in 1958, ‘citizenship is not a license that expires upon misbehavior,’” said Sen. Nasheed. “I’m glad the committee decided to move forward with these pieces of legislation so quickly. I look forward to working with my colleagues on the Senate floor to ensure that these Missourians get their voices back and that their voting rights are restored.”
For more information about these pieces of legislation, please contact Sen. Nasheed’s office at 573-751-4415.