Thousands of felons in North Carolina can now register and vote
CBSN
Raleigh, North Carolina — Tens of thousands of people serving punishments for felony convictions in North Carolina but who aren't behind bars can now register to vote and cast ballots following an appeals court ruling.
Expanding the scope of those able to register and vote began on Wednesday, the State Board of Elections said — the day after local elections were held in more than a dozen localities.
The change proceeds from litigation challenging a 1973 law that prevents someone convicted of a felony from having voting rights restored while they are still on probation, parole or post-release supervision.
Ashley White received her earliest combat action badge from the United States Army soon after the first lieutenant arrived in Afghanistan. The silver military award, recognizing soldiers who've been personally engaged by an attacker during conflict, was considered an achievement in and of itself as well as an affirming rite of passage for the newly deployed. White had earned it for using her own body to shield a group of civilian women and children from gunfire that broke out in the midst of her third mission in Kandahar province. All of them survived. She never mentioned the badge to anyone in her battalion.