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Hans India
23-04-2025
- Politics
- Hans India
FGG outraged over BRS' diktat to city corporators
Hyderabad: The Forum for Good Governance (FGG) on Tuesday demanded action against the BRS party for refraining their corporators from canvassing their vote in the Council election under Hyderabad Local Authorities constituency (LAC). The FGG president M Padmanabha Reddy said that asking the corporators not to cast their vote attracts offence under Section 123 of the RP Act and Section 169 of BNS. The FGG president said that Election Commission of India was taking numerous steps to improve the polling percentage. The Civil Society Organisations in Telangana at the time of elections were organising as 'Election Watch' and taking up campaign for all citizens to exercise their voting right. The Supreme Court ordered the ECI to include NOTA to improve the polling percentage and to allow negative voting. The entire exercise of the Election Commission of India, Supreme Court and Civil Societies was to see that all voters should exercise their Right to Vote. Padmanabha Reddy said that citizens of Hyderabad have elected their Corporators, MLAs and MPs by exercising their adult franchises. When it comes to electing an MLC by Corporators of Greater Hyderabad Municipal Corporation, the BRS party is directing its Corporators not to participate in elections. The party has warned the Corporators of serious action if any Corporator participates and votes in elections. This act of the BRS party violates Section 123 of RP Act and again, as per Section 169 of BNS 2023 a person has an electoral right to vote at an election. Directing the party Corporators not to go for voting violates the Right to Vote. Forum for Good Governance requests Election Commission of India to take suitable action in this matter, the FGG president said.
Yahoo
15-04-2025
- Politics
- Yahoo
Alabama Senate votes to ease voting rights restoration for those convicted of felonies
Sen. Linda Coleman-Madison, D-Birmingham, speaks in the Alabama Senate on April 9, 2025 at the Alabama Statehouse in Montgomery, Alabama. (Brian Lyman/Alabama Reflector_ The Alabama Senate on Thursday passed a bill aimed at streamlining the process for restoring voting rights to some individuals with past felony convictions. SB 153, sponsored by Sen. Linda Coleman-Madison, D-Birmingham, would require the state's Board of Pardons and Paroles to develop new procedures to make the restoration process easier. The bill passed the Senate 27-0. 'This requires [Board of Pardons and Paroles] to post notices so people know how to have their rights restored, and once they have met that requirement, that Pardons and Paroles is the one that really is going to be notifying the Secretary of State,' Coleman-Madison said in a phone interview Friday. SUBSCRIBE: GET THE MORNING HEADLINES DELIVERED TO YOUR INBOX Under existing Alabama law, individuals can lose their right to vote following a conviction in state or federal court. They may have that right restored by the Board of Pardons and Paroles if they meet certain requirements, such as paying fines, fees and court costs and having completed their sentence. The bill seeks to make the restoration process more transparent and accessible. It requires the Board of Pardons and Paroles and the Secretary of State to develop and make available on their websites a specific form and instructions for applying for a Certificate of Eligibility to Register to Vote. This applies to individuals who met the eligibility criteria outlined in the state code before Oct. 1, 2025. Applicants would submit this form to the board for review. The board would be required to provide the secretary of state with the individual's address and the date their voting rights were restored. Once the information is received, the secretary of state would then notify both the individual and the board of registrars in the county where the individual resides about the restoration date. The county board of registrars would be required to add the individual's name back to the poll list and inform the person of their eligibility date, unless the individual had never been registered to vote prior to their conviction. Coleman-Madison said efforts to streamline the voting rights restoration process go back a few years to when she worked with former Sen. Cam Ward who is now director of the Alabama Bureau of Pardons and Paroles. In an interview Friday, Ward confirmed working with Coleman-Madison and said that he had 'no problem' with legislation, calling it a 'great idea.' 'I think she just tried to do an administrative streamlining, which I've always said should be done anyway,' Ward said, adding that it wouldn't be a policy change but an administrative one. Ward said that once a person completes their sentence, they are given a Certificate of Eligibility to Register to Vote in many cases, depending on the crime. He said the individuals then have to take the certificate to the Alabama Secretary of State, where the secretary of state can make the final determination about that individual's voting eligibility. 'What we do is we go through the process of certifying … the right to vote, and then actually, the Secretary of State makes a final call. We don't,' Ward said. Messages seeking comment were left with the Secretary of State's office. Coleman-Madison said the bill would most impact people who 'come out and try to get their lives back together,' saying that 'these are family people who want to be role models for their children and their spouses.' Coleman-Madison also said it's important to notify people who had their voting rights restored. The bill would mandate that the Board of Pardons and Paroles publicly post on its website the names of everyone whose voting rights have been restored under the relevant state code section. The Board must list the county where each person was last registered or their last known county of residence if they had never registered before their conviction. 'You can send it to the last known address. They may not get it, but if you put it up on a site, you can let people know you go to that site, and that's where you can check it,' she said. The bill moves to the House for consideration. SUPPORT: YOU MAKE OUR WORK POSSIBLE
