context: More importantly, I question whether the Commonwealth can rely on a felon's purported incapacity to vote responsibly as the "non-punitive rationale" for Article 120 given that neither the ability to vote responsibly nor respect for the existing law remain "reasonable ground[s] of eligibility for voting." Rather, the idea that a particular group may be disqualified from voting based on a lack of respect for existing criminal law now constitutes a form of viewpoint discrimination that has been expressly rejected.
citation_a.signal: see also
citation_a.parenthetical: " 'Fencing out' from the franchise a sector of the population because of the way they may vote is constitutionally impermissible."
citation_a.sentence: See, e.g., Romer, 517 U.S. at 634, 116 S.Ct. 1620 (see parenthetical, supra, n. 43); Dunn v. Blumstein, 405 U.S. 330, 354-56, 92 S.Ct. 995, 31 L.Ed.2d 274 (1972) (rejecting durational residency requirements that rested on claims about the desirability of ensuring that citizens understood, and shared, community values before they were permitted to vote); see also Carrington v. Rash, 380 U.S. 89, 94, 85 S.Ct. 775, 13 L.Ed.2d 675 (1965) (“ ‘Fencing out’ from the franchise a sector of the population because of the way they may vote is constitutionally impermissible.”).
citation_b.signal: see
citation_b.parenthetical: rejecting durational residency requirements that rested on claims about the desirability of ensuring that citizens understood, and shared, community values before they were permitted to vote
citation_b.sentence: See, e.g., Romer, 517 U.S. at 634, 116 S.Ct. 1620 (see parenthetical, supra, n. 43); Dunn v. Blumstein, 405 U.S. 330, 354-56, 92 S.Ct. 995, 31 L.Ed.2d 274 (1972) (rejecting durational residency requirements that rested on claims about the desirability of ensuring that citizens understood, and shared, community values before they were permitted to vote); see also Carrington v. Rash, 380 U.S. 89, 94, 85 S.Ct. 775, 13 L.Ed.2d 675 (1965) (“ ‘Fencing out’ from the franchise a sector of the population because of the way they may vote is constitutionally impermissible.”).