The Colorado Supreme Court ruled Monday that parolees cannot vote.
The ruling was the outgrowth of a lawsuit filed late last year by the American Civil Liberties Union.
Norm Mueller, an ACLU volunteer attorney, said more than 6,000 people on parole were illegally being denied the right to vote.
Colorado’s constitution says inmates in prison are not allowed to vote, but the right is restored when the individual has “served out his full term of imprisonment.”
The debate is over whether or not a person on parole is still considered imprisoned.
“Today’s decision makes clear that parole indeed included the term of imprisonment,” said Colorado Attorney General John Suthers.
Mueller said he was “very disappointed.”
“I think the framers of the constitution were very clear when they said felons lose their right to vote only when they are in a public prison. A person on parole is not confined in prison,” Mueller said.
In the unanimous ruling, Justice Gregory Hobbs wrote that the phrase “full term of imprisonment” makes it clear the person’s full rights return only when the entire sentence, including parole, is finished.
In its ruling, the Supreme Court upheld a decision by Denver District Judge Michael Martinez, who ruled in early June that parolees can’t vote.
Martinez said the state’s interpretation that parole is part of “imprisonment” has been supported for years by the legislature and previous Colorado and U.S. Supreme Court rulings.
Staff writer Howard Pankratz can be reached at 303-820-1939 or pankratz@denverpost.com.
