弗吉尼亚州全州弗吉尼亚第3号投票提案10月29日受关注：除重罪犯投票权恢复外还涉投票基本权利与无行为能力认定
弗吉尼亚州全州选民11月3日投票时将面对第3号投票提案，公共广播机构WHRO于10月29日刊文指出，这项提案的含义远不止重罪犯投票权恢复这一最广为人知的部分。提案若通过，将在州宪法中确立投票的“基本权利”，并改变认定选民无行为能力的方式。弗吉尼亚州现行宪法中的自由平等选举条款写道，所有选举应当自由，所有有充分证据表明与社区有永久共同利益和联系的男子都有选举权；提案若通过，将新增表述，规定每个符合资格的人都享有在弗吉尼亚投票的基本权利，且该权利不得被法律剥夺。威廉与玛丽法学院选举法项目主任、前弗吉尼亚州选举委员会主席詹姆斯·奥尔康表示，修正案不会立即改变任何投票法律，但会改变法院今后评估对州选举法挑战的方式，使选民在挑战实质性加重投票负担的法律或做法时拥有更强依据，涉及范围可能包括邮寄选票、选票获取、选区划分和选民身份证等。此外，提案还将明确因重罪入狱者不能投票，但未提及因轻罪入狱者。自动恢复重罪犯投票权的修宪提案已在州议会提出数十年，今年的版本是最新一次闯关。
Virginia Ballot Question 3 Draws Attention on October 29: Beyond Felony Rights Restoration, It Concerns a Fundamental Right to Vote and Incapacity Determinations
Virginia voters will face Ballot Question 3 when they vote on November 3. Public broadcaster WHRO reported on October 29 that the proposal means far more than its best-known part, the restoration of voting rights after felony convictions: if passed, it would establish a 'fundamental right' to vote in the state constitution and change the way a voter is found to be incapacitated. Virginia's current free and equal elections clause states that all elections ought to be free and that all men who have sufficient evidence of permanent common interest with, and attachment to, the community have the right of suffrage; the amendment would add language providing that every qualified person has the fundamental right to vote in Virginia and that the right shall not be abridged by law. James Alcorn, director of the election law program at William & Mary Law School and former chair of the Virginia State Board of Elections, said the amendment would not immediately change any voting law but would change how courts evaluate future challenges to state election laws, giving voters a stronger basis to challenge laws or practices that substantially burden voting, potentially covering mail-in ballots, ballot access, redistricting and voter ID. The proposal would also make clear that people incarcerated for felonies cannot vote, while making no mention of people incarcerated for misdemeanors. Constitutional amendments to automatically restore voting rights after felony convictions have been introduced in the state legislature for decades; this year's version is the latest attempt.
来源：GSM·美国（原文链接）
图片来源：资料图：美国国会大厦，来源为GSM固定图库federal-core包（Wikimedia Commons：State Capitol, Richmond, Va. (16811738796).jpg，授权 Public domain，作者 VCU Libraries Commons）
