Confusion over which crimes prohibit voting in Alabama

The state of Alabama is trying to sort out a confusing and potentially discriminatory situation over which crimes block a person from voting in the state.  Republican Gov. Bob Riley's office compiled a list of felony crimes that disallowed voting, but the list included hundreds of crimes that were previously not included to refuse felons their right to vote.  Court administrators say that the list is "overly broad" and that the list has been inappropriately used for months by county registrars to block felon voter registration.  A court placed the Secretary of State in charge of election issues, in place of Governor Riley, and they are trying to remedy the problem before Election Day, but there is no way to know how many people were told they could not register and will be discouraged from trying again.

On a similar note, I have to add that while conducting a voter registration drive in Dallas, recently, at a light rail station, we encountered two individuals who said they could not register because they were felons.  Texas state law says that after fully completing a sentence, felons may register to vote, but these two had been explicitly told when they left prison that they could not register to vote ever again.  This is a terrible injustice to people who have served the time sentenced to them, and are supposed to be able to re-enter society anew.  Hopefully Alabama will be able to sort out its mistakes.