NAACP Takes Bid to Ensure US Ex-Con Voting to UN

The NAACP is taking to the U.N. its effort to ensure that all former convicted felons in the United States can vote.

A delegation from the National Association for the Advancement of Colored People was holding meetings Tuesday at the United Nation’s Geneva office in part to press the world body to send observers to the U.S. for this year’s elections.

The diplomatic push comes against the backdrop of a related — and vigorous — debate about requirements in some states for would-be voters to provide proper identification before they can cast ballots.

The NAACP says nearly 6 million U.S. citizens are barred from voting because of previous felony convictions. According to The Sentencing Project, an advocacy group that seeks policies to make it easier for felons to vote, the United States has the world’s largest prison population — 2.2 million — and more than 60 percent of inmates are ethnic or racial minorities.

In a statement, the NAACP said it sent a first delegation to the U.N. Human Rights Council in March “in the face of a mounting attack on voting rights in the United States.” {snip}

{snip}