Voting rights groups plan Louisiana registration bus tour
BATON ROUGE, La. (AP) — Two voting rights groups are holding a four-day bus tour across Louisiana, seeking to register thousands of convicted felons whose voting rights were restored earlier this year.
Voice of the Experienced, known as VOTE, and Black Voters Matter are advertising the tour on social media sites.
They'll kick off the events Sunday in Baton Rouge. The bus tour will reach Lafayette, Opelousas and Alexandria on Monday, Shreveport and Monroe on Tuesday, and New Orleans on Wednesday.
Louisiana legislators voted last year to allow people on probation or parole for a felony to register to vote if they haven't been incarcerated for at least five years.
The change took effect March 1, estimated to make 36,000 felons eligible for voter registration. But the state hasn't seen a surge in signups.