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By the narrowest of margins, Rhode Islanders approved an amendment to the state constitution giving back the right to vote to prisoners who have completed their sentences. Rhode Island doesn’t have a massive share of the over two million convicts held in American lockups, but it’s still a potentially significant move that will hopefully set an example for the many other states that strip the franchise from former felons. Such laws may well have tipped the 2000 election in Bush’s favor, as MJ.com reported the day after the polls closed that year.
