OPINION:
Recently I learned that Virginia Gov. Terry McAuliffe, by executive order, restored the right to vote to felons who had completed the full sentence imposed upon them by a court (“Virginia Gov. Terry McAuliffe to restore voting rights of more than 200,000 convicted felons,” Web, April 22). Unsure of his motivations for doing so (and because I have not seen any constitutional basis for this decision), I would like to offer for consideration the 13th and 15th amendments to the Constitution.
Most Americans probably think that the 13th Amendment completely abolished slavery and involuntary servitude in this nation. It did not. This perspective is based on the wording of the exception clause in Section 1, which states, “except as a punishment for crime whereof the party shall have been duly convicted…” As a result, for federal, state and local prisoners slavery and involuntary servitude still exist.
The 15th Amendment declares that the right “to vote shall not be denied or abridged by the United States or by any state on account of race, color, or previous condition of servitude.” Since persons convicted of crimes are still subject to slavery and involuntary servitude, it seems that once slavery or a previous condition of involuntary servitude has been completed, the right to vote should be immediately restored in accordance with the 15th Amendment.
I realize that the Constitution can be inconvenient in the realm of today’s politics, even to those who have taken an oath to uphold it. But it seems that the issue of voting rights for those affected by slavery and involuntary servitude was decided in 1870.
PHILLIP HAMILTON
Federal Correctional Institution Fort Dix
Fort Dix, N.J.
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