UPDATE: The right to vote while in prison, Farrakhan v. Gregoire

The 9th Circuit decision overturning Washington State's felon disenfranchisement law based on its disparate impact on people of color, has been ordered for an en banc review, according to Sentencing Law and Policy blog. As previously discussed, the decision is not likely to survive this or the next appellate review by the U.S. Supreme Court. But who knows? I'll be certainly glad to be proven wrong in my prediction.

The right to vote while in prison, Farrakhan v. Gregoire

In Farrakhan v. Gregoire, decided on January 5th, 2010 by a 3-judge panel in the 9th Circuit, the Court strikes down the Washington state's disenfranchisement of people currently incarcerated in state prisons as violating § 2 of the Voting Rights Act (“VRA”), 42 U.S.C. § 1973 under its "totality of circumstances" test, due to the large racial disparity in incarceration rates.

I doubt that the Supreme Court will uphold this decision, even if the 9th Circuit sitting en banc may, because the Court's rationale depends on the type of racially disparate impact analysis so disfavored by the highest court. Still, the decision is a breath of fresh air in the bleak "post-racial" and "color-blind" world we live in.