“No one can argue against a person having their rights restored after they have paid restitution to society. It is, however, discriminatory, in my view, to spend taxpayer money on the ‘prioritization’ of an ex-felon’s rights to voting over those who might be transplants to a new state or those who turn eighteen.

I saw the Alabama bill [to re-enfranchise felons] as a politically driven bill that favored one group of lawfully engaged (or re-engaged) citizens over another. If we are to inform and ‘expedite’ the re-registration of felons, we should have equal interest in new neighbors and young people. That was not the purpose of that particular bill.”