Hayden v. Pataki

As a matter of public policy, I do not doubt that it may well be rational for the state to enact laws — applied fairly and equally, regardless of race, creed, color, religion or gender — that deprive felons of the right to vote while serving their sentences. At the same time, I am mindful that the task of a court is not to make policy or to substitute its views for that of political branches, but rather to be faithful to the words of a statute. In the case at hand, Congress stated:

No voting qualification or prerequisite to voting or standard, practice, or procedure shall be imposed or applied…