Candidates' positions are categorized as Pro (Yes), Con (No), Not Clearly Pro or Con, or None Found. Candidates who have changed their positions are listed as Now their most recent position. Candidates are listed by party and in alphabetical order by last name. Black & white photos indicate candidates who have withdrawn or who no longer meet our criteria for inclusion.
Gary Johnson, former Governor of New Mexico, signed into law Senate Bill 204(8 KB) on Mar. 15, 2001, An Act Relating to Elections; Restoring the Right to Vote to a Person Convicted of a Felony who has Satisfied All Conditions of a Sentence; Amending, Repealing and Enacting Sections of the NMSA 1978, available at www.nmlegis.gov:
Senate Bill 204 stated in part: "A person who has served the entirety of a sentence imposed for a felony conviction, including a term of probation or parole shall, upon his request to the corrections department, be issued a certificate of completion by the corrections department. Presentation of the certificate of completion to a county clerk shall entitle the person to register to vote." Mar. 15, 2001 Gary Johnson
Barack Obama, 44th President of the United States, stated the following in a Dec. 2007 National Association for the Advancement of Colored People (NAACP) questionnaire titled "The NAACP 2008 Presidential Candidate Civil Rights Questionnaire" (1.1 MB), available at www.naacp.org:
"I support restoration of voting rights for ex-offenders. I am a cosponsor of the Count Every Vote Act, and would sign that legislation into law as president." Dec. 2007 Barack Obama
Mitt Romney, former Governor of Massachusetts, stated the following during the Jan. 16, 2012 Republican presidential candidate debate in Myrtle Beach, SC, sponsored by Fox News, the Wall Street Journal, and the South Carolina Republican Party, available at foxnewsinsider.com:
"I think people who committed violent crimes should not be allowed to vote again…
As governor of Massachusetts, I had an 85 percent Democratic legislature. This is something we discussed. My view was people who committed violent crimes should not be able to vote, even upon coming out of office.
In my state, I had a state that — that said that they did not favor my position. I’m not letting felons who had committed violent crimes vote. I think it’s a — a position that’s reasonable, and that’s the position I’ve got." Jan. 16, 2012 Mitt Romney
Jill Stein, MD, former Professor of Medicine at Harvard Medical School, stated the following in her Jan. 2012 speech "A People's State of the Union: A Green New Deal for America," available at www.jillstein.org:
“Restore the vote to ex-offenders who’ve paid their debt to society.” Jan. 2012 Jill Stein
Rick Santorum, former US Senator (R-PA), stated the following during the Jan. 16, 2012 Republican presidential candidate debate in Myrtle Beach, SC, sponsored by Fox News, the Wall Street Journal, and the South Carolina Republican Party, available at www.presidency.ucsb.edu:
"[D]o you [Mit Romney] believe, do you believe that felons who have served their time, gone through probation and parole, exhausted their entire sentence, should they be given the right to have a vote?
This is Martin Luther King Day. This is a huge deal in the African- American community, because we have very high rates of incarceration, disproportionately high rates, particularly with drug crimes, in the African-American community.
The bill I voted on was the Martin Luther King Voting Rights bill. And this was a provision that said, particularly targeted African-Americans. And I voted to allow — to allow them to have their voting rights back once they completed their sentence." Jan. 16, 2012 Rick Santorum
Explore Pros & Cons of Controversial Issues
