Attorney General Eric Holder on Tuesday urged states to repeal laws that prohibit convicted felons from voting, even after they have served their sentences, NBC News reported. "By perpetuating the stigma and isolation imposed on formerly incarcerated individuals, these laws increase the likelihood they will commit future crimes," Holder said at a Washington, D.C., symposium on sentencing laws. Holder said the restrictions bar 5.8 million Americans from casting a ballot, including 2.2 million African-Americans. He called the laws a vestige of post-Civil War racial discrimination, saying "nearly one in 13 African-American adults are banned from voting because of these laws. In three states -- Florida, Kentucky, and Virginia -- that ratio climbs to one in five," he said.

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