ATLANTA — A Republican-led panel of Georgia lawmakers is recommending that the state continue to ban all felons from voting until their sentences are completed.
A state Senate study committee voted Wednesday without considering a proposal to restore voting rights to some nonviolent felons.
An estimated 266,000 Georgia residents were prohibited from voting in 2018 because they were serving felony sentences. That includes those on probation or parole, or who had unpaid fines.
Georgia's constitution disenfranchises people convicted of felonies "involving moral turpitude.” State lawmakers have never defined which crimes apply. So Georgia bans all felons from voting.
Georgia is one of the 22 states that mostly deny voting rights to felons until after they complete any parole or probation.
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