Pubdate: Thu, 19 May 2005 Source: Decatur Daily (AL) Copyright: 2005 The Decatur Daily Contact: http://www.decaturdaily.com/decaturdaily/index.shtml Details: http://www.mapinc.org/media/696 Author: Samira Jafari, Associated Press Writer DRUG, ALCOHOL CONVICTS MAY BE ELIGIBLE TO VOTE MONTGOMERY -- Many state prisoners convicted of drug and alcohol felonies may be eligible to vote, even while incarcerated, though they probably don't know it. The state Board of Pardons and Paroles announced Wednesday that under a 1996 amendment to the Alabama constitution, inmates convicted of DUIs or drug possession alone never lose their voting rights -- despite common belief that felons are prohibited from casting ballots. "Everybody thought anyone convicted of a felony lost the right to vote," said Cynthia Dillard, assistant director for the pardons and paroles board. Dillard said the parole board looked into the issue after hearing about a Pell City prosecutor trying to charge an inmate who attempted to vote in last November's elections. The board received a March 18 advisory opinion from Attorney General Troy King, who said only those felonies involving "moral turpitude" -- meaning the crimes are inherently immoral -- disqualify a convict from voting. The finding caught state voting officials off guard, prompting a request by Secretary of State Nancy Worley to King seeking a comprehensive list of crimes that forfeit voting rights and those that don't. "A uniform listing of felonies involving moral turpitude should be established, distributed and publicly posted in order to avoid different interpretations in each county," Worley said in a statement Wednesday. A spokeswoman for King said Wednesday the request was being researched, but would not elaborate. Voting officials also were trying to determine whether any names were improperly removed from the state list of registered voters. Prison system and voting officials were uncertain how many inmates would be affected. More than 2,250 inmates were in prison for drug possession and about 640 were serving time for felony DUI as their most serious offenses, according to Dec. 31, 2004, figures by the Alabama Sentencing Commission. It's unclear how many of those inmates were registered to vote and the prison system has not encountered any prisoners trying to vote, said DOC spokesman Brian Corbett. He said if some inmates are eligible to vote, they likely would have to petition the circuit clerks in their home counties for absentee ballots. - --- MAP posted-by: Richard Lake