The United Nations Committee on the Elimination of Racial Discrimination issued this Report on March 7, concerning the United States. It is 13 pages long and is a response to reports made by the United States to the Committee, concerning progress overcoming racial discrimination in the United States.

The U.N. document praises the United States for having re-authorized the Voting Rights Act in 2006. But it remains concerned about voting rights. It says, “The Committee remains concerned about the disparate impact that existing felon disenfranchisement laws have on a large number of persons belonging to racial, ethnic and national minorities, in particular African American persons, who are disproportionately represented at every stage of the criminal justice system. The Committee notes with particular concern that in some states, individuals remain disenfranchised even after the completion of their sentences.”

Thanks to Rick Hasen’s electionlawblog for this.

In the United States, there are three classes of adult competent citizens who are sometimes denied their voting rights in the U.S.: felons and ex-felons; residents of the District of Columbia and the territories; and people who are not members of the Republican and Democratic Parties.