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Editorial

Agreed: Serve Your Time, Cast Your Ballot

The bitterly fought presidential campaign has underscored yet again that conservative and liberal Americans are deeply divided on just about every aspect of social policy.

So it is surprising to find widespread agreement on one issue. A national survey released last week by PRRI, a nonpartisan opinion research organization, shows that Americans think people who have committed felonies and paid the price for their crimes should be able to vote.

Laws in a dozen states will bar more than three million people with felony convictions from voting on Nov. 8 — even though they have completed their prison sentences, probation or parole.

Three-quarters of all Americans believe that these people deserve the right to participate in democracy, and that support reaches across the political spectrum to include clear majorities of Republicans, Democrats, conservatives, moderates and liberals.

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A version of this article appears in print on  , Section SR, Page 10 of the New York edition with the headline: Agreed: Serve Your Time, Cast Your Ballot. Order Reprints | Today’s Paper | Subscribe

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