Suffrage; restore to Jason Terrell Carter of Madison County.
Summary
HB 1985 is a local/private bill that restores the right of suffrage to Jason Terrell Carter of Madison County, Mississippi. The bill states that Carter lost his voting rights because of a 2005 armed robbery conviction and that he was later discharged from custody in 2013. It further recites the Legislature’s finding that he has since lived as a law-abiding and honorable citizen.
If enacted, the bill would remove Carter’s disqualification as an elector and fully restore his voting rights. The measure is narrowly tailored to one named individual rather than changing Mississippi’s general rules for restoring voting rights after felony convictions. It takes effect immediately upon passage.
Impact
The bill would amend the legal status of a single person by restoring his suffrage rights, overriding the voting disqualification that resulted from his felony conviction. It does not create a new statewide restoration process or alter the broader statutory framework governing disenfranchisement; instead, it operates as a special legislative restoration for Jason Terrell Carter alone.
Sentiment
The available materials suggest a straightforward, favorable posture toward the bill, with no recorded committee debate or votes indicating opposition. The bill’s language itself is affirmative and rehabilitative, emphasizing that Carter has behaved as a law-abiding and honorable citizen since his discharge. Because there are no transcripts or vote records provided, there is no evidence of broader controversy in the available context.
Contention
No specific points of contention are documented in the provided materials. In general, bills restoring suffrage to a named individual can raise questions about the appropriateness of case-by-case legislative relief versus a uniform restoration process, but no such objections or supporters are identified here. The bill appears to have been introduced as a private suffrage restoration measure for one person with a prior violent felony conviction.