The foregoing cases may be contrasted with the position in the United States. The Supreme Court of the United States held in Richardson v. Ramirez (1974)Richardson v. Ramirez , Supreme Court (US). that a California statute permanently removing the right to vote from any person convicted of an "infamous crime" unless the right to vote was restored by court order or executive pardon did not violate the Equal Protection Clause of the Fourteenth Amendment to the United States Constitution. The Court noted that there was explicit constitutional approval for laws disenfranchising felons since section 2 of the Amendment reduced a state's representation in Congress if the state has denied the right to vote for any reason "except for participation in rebellion, or other crime". Thus, it was unnecessary for the statute in question to be narrowly tailored to serve compelling state interests to be consistent with equal protection.Richardson, pp. 54–56.
