Ninth Circuit strikes down Washington state’s felon disfranchisement law in landmark voting rights case, a fitting tribute to Dr. King

January 15, 2010

In a precedent-setting decision, the Ninth Circuit Court of Appeals struck down the state of Washington’s law barring felons from voting on Jan. 5, just in time to honor Dr. Martin Luther King, for whom the issue of voting rights for the disenfranchised was a top priority. The Ninth Circuit ruled that the law violates the federal Voting Rights Act.