Lifting ban on ex-felon votes

It's quite obvious why Republicans are against it because most ex-felons would vote against them. Meanwhile many of those same Republicans are pushing forward laws that would get many into jail and deprived of their voting priveldges.

If a convicted felon can enlist in the military ... why in the fuck should they not be able to vote?!

Double standard much?

Oh wait. Consider the current regime.

Hello everyone. Mr. Burns is a troll. Don't feed the troll. He doesn't bring anything useful to the table. Ignore him and he'll go away.

Being a convicted felon myself, this thread hits home. I was found guilty of harnessing mother nature in the privacy of my own home. The charge was possession of more than three ounces of a controlled substance in the PLANT form. I have no idea if my vote counts. I have an SC voter registration card, I vote, but I don't know if my vote gets counted. My felony is in another state. The legal mumbo jumbo is very vague and confusing. Upon my release, I was forced to sign away many of my constitutional rights. Also, I had to give blood as I checked out of the pokey. My DNA was sent to the national DNA crime data bank to be logged forever. If one of my hairs ends up in a crime scene in 20 years, I'll probably get a phone call. It was clear to me that I broke the rules and therefore I was silenced forever. One non-violent mistake in my 20's and I was kicked off the team.
BTW, In SC the mandatory minimum for traficing Marijuana is 25 to life........Murder in the 1st is 15 to life.

Interesting that many of those who are against ex-felons voting have the gall to call themselves Christians in the same breath.

What happened to Christian virtue of forgiveness?

Plus prison should ultimately be about reform not solely punishment. How does a ban on ex-felon's voting priveldges help with this reform. They will always be second-class citizens which will spur many to continue their criminal ways.

hey thanks, twodee, yes...quite interesting.

(and i kinda like that logo too)

anyway, there's probably no shortage of "scumbags" in prison, but I find more faceless jerks in our own government locking up as many otherwise would-be decent people who've only made honest mistakes trying to make the best of a shitty situation usually just because of a lack of any kind of a decent paycheck--and they intentionally *keep* just these kinds of people locked up just to look good in the eyes of the mindless and the unthinking, effectively withholding any active mercy or compassion on the families of the children doing without mothers and fathers and for little more than egregious political bs...(take that mother of three I saw somewhere here on current who'd petitioned after years in jail to be with her girls only for the lousy jerks to extend her sentence, for doing some kind of a monetary transaction, i.e. not necessarily trafficking per se herself) why we allow such utterly disparaging crap I'll never know.

let 'em vote I say.

Why should a person not be able to vote is the question? They tell you after you serve your time you have paid your debt. If you have your freedom no matter whats in your past you should be able to vote thats your voice. Lift the ban

Thank you for sharing that here edbr.

this isn't about rapists, murderers, and serial killers at all. they generally get a long sentence. but my best friend's mom spent 10 YEARS in prison for possession of < 1 gram of coke in TX. she is an ex-felon, can't work any job involving responsibilities like cash handling, etc. she was an alcoholic at the time, but has since not touched alcohol or drugs and held as good a job as she can get (she's really smart, but because of a felony record she is forced to work crap jobs) for the last 5 years, since she's been free.

i think people like her should have a vote... she's a productive member of society.

mrburns, but you are a voter with a skew view of the world. And you get to vote! That's nifty huh?

Regardless of who did what when, all 50 states should have the same rights for black voters; or former felons.

Fair is fair, if people are against this change, let them eat cake.

Stop pissing around the subject and go pick up some ex-con rapist from the bus stop from the walls unit in Hunstville, Tx. They let them out every week.

Love them, care for them and make excuses for them. I can help you if you want, we can pick them out like a puppy, but these puppies are scum to the world.

People do not go to prison for singing to loud in the choir.

Better yet go get a job in a prison.

God bless america
God bless big oil

That's what I want someone with a skew view of the world voting on topics

UNfrickin believable,

completely sickening, any form of sticking up for scumbag crap sickens me.

I also suggest that twodee house a child molestor after release and help this person reform himself.

Stop fooling around the topic and just come out and show your support for rapists, child molestors and other thugs

God bless americans who are responsible enough not to go to prison
god bless big oil

how does this tie in with the idea of "lowering" the qualifications to get into the armed services ? how does it tie in with the progressive "lowering" of college entrance qualifications ? how does it tie in with illegal aliens being a near irreplaceable work force in this country ? how about obesity ? there is a trend here , and it doesn't look good .

another thing illegal for a felon is owning a fire-arm.isnt a vote just as important .they gave up those freedoms when they commited the crime

It's completely unfair! ex-felons deserve the right to vote. They have paid their time to society and have gone through the system. They should have the right to vote

I think ex felons should be allowed to vote as long as they are no longer on probation. If they have succesfully assimilated into society, then why not give them the rights that every other citizen has. We make them follow the rules and persecute them when they break them. We should reward them their civil rights and liberties.

"To error is human to forgive divine."
Yes, but we are talking about something that goes over of the error and divinity of things.

How integrated into society are these ex-felons? We cannot generalize because there are hard and soft criminals. Many violate their parole, many not. Some are back in society and do well, some not. Sometimes a rule does not apply to everyone. Here seems to be the case.

We need to learn the everybody make mistakes.

To error human to forgive divine

I agree with bss05g, if someone has served their time and/or risked their lives for our country, I think it is important that they have the right to vote, to practice good citizenship.

It is also important for people who are close-minded about this to learn to forgive, not forget but forgive. People that cannot forgive others cannot forgive themselves either, so they probably have a pretty miserable existence. I suppose they might wish continued misery on those who are making an effort to be good citizens though I would hope not.

If you can't follow the laws, you shouldn't be allowed to vote on them.

I still don't see why people say felons shouldn't be able to vote. I mean they are contributing to society by commiting crimes.

If there was no one commiting crimes, would we have the laws we do have now??? Ife there was no one selling bad batches of cocaine, would it be illegal to sell it??

I'm not saying it's right but they are improving the system in some way....

think about it...

i think they've may have broken the law but they should still be able to choose who's in charge. I mean the mega rich crooks who endorse who they feelwill help them oppress more people and make even more money are the ones we should take the vote from. Not some guy who occasionally smoked weed to get through the day in this steadily imploding economy, and happen to get caught.

Think about it...

I fail to see how committing a criminal act, even a serious one, can affect your ability to vote.

Voting is a RIGHT, not a privilege.

What logical or legal basis is there to deny votes to ex-felons?

It's my understanding that in Georgia you can register to vote after you have served your time and are off probation.

Felons should definitely be able to vote, because after the get release they become a part of the American society and therefore should have some say in the government of the country they live in. No only that, but in some cases felons are able to be in the army and if you can put your life on the line for your country you should definitely be able to vote.

I can understand why people who are in the middle of serving a sentence should perhaps not be permitted to vote (if you can't live by the rules other people set then why should you get to set the rules for them?). However, I think it's completely unfair to leave previous felons without a political voice because, after all, they have served their time and paid their due to society.

There are some issues that goes over a normal discussion and each case it is a case. No else, we have enough Chaos as it is!

Felons are not responsible to vote. My best friend has 5 for things like distribution of cocaine illegal fire arms, possession of XTC lots of shit, and is in jail for another year. He is not responsible enough to vote.

That doesn't mean i dont send him 20 dollars every month so he can buy Ramón noodles. I love the guy.

exactly!

I have an idea why Governor Kane wants to lift the ban on felons from voting. I think the 5 year ban on felons, here in Virginia from voting is appropriate. I think a longer ban for more serious crimes would be fair too.

and more from the list...

• Texas: In 1997, the Texas Legislature passed a bill, signed by Governor George W. Bush, eliminating the two-year waiting period after completion of sentence before individuals can regain their right to vote.
• Utah: In 1998, Utah voters approved an amendment prohibiting persons incarcerated for a felony conviction from voting.
• Virginia: The Virginia legislature passed a law in 2000 enabling certain ex-felons to apply to the circuit court for the restoration of their voting rights five years after the completion of their sentence; those convicted of felony drug offenses must wait seven years after completion. The circuit court's decisions are subject to the Governor's approval.
• Wyoming: In 2003, Governor Freudenthal signed a bill to allow people convicted of a non-violent first-time felony to apply for restoration of voting rights five years after completion of sentence.

Policy Changes listed at "The Sentencing Project"

• Alabama: In 2003, Governor Riley signed into law a bill that permits most felons to apply for a certificate of eligibility to register to vote after completing their sentence.
• Connecticut: In 2001, Governor Rowland signed into law a bill that extends voting rights to felons on probation. The law made 36,000 persons eligible to vote.
• Delaware: In 2000, the General Assembly passed a constitutional amendment restoring voting rights to some ex-felons five years after the completion of their sentence.
• Florida: In 2007, the Office of Executive Clemency voted to amend the state’s voting rights restoration procedure to automatically approve the reinstatement of rights for many persons who have been convicted of non-violent offenses. Persons convicted of certain violent crimes are now immediately eligible to apply for review and approval without a hearing while others must still seek restoration through a hearing before the Clemency Board.
• Iowa: Governor Vilsack issued an executive order in 2005 automatically restoring the voting rights of all ex-felons, a process that will continue on a monthly basis upon the completion of sentence.
• Kansas: In 2002, the Legislature added probationers to the category of excluded felons.
• Kentucky: In 2001, the Legislature passed a bill that requires that the Department of Corrections inform and aid eligible offenders in completing the restoration process to regain their civil rights.
• Maryland: In 2007, the Legislature repealed all provisions of the state’s lifetime voting ban, including the three-year waiting period after completion of sentence for certain categories of offenses, and instituted an automatic restoration policy for all persons upon completion of sentence.
• Massachusetts: In 2000, the Massachusetts electorate voted in favor of a constitutional amendment, which strips persons incarcerated for a felony offense of their right to vote.
• Nebraska: In 2005, the Legislature repealed the lifetime ban on all felons and replaced it with a two-year post-sentence ban.
• Nevada: In 2003, the state approved a provision to automatically restore voting rights for first-time nonviolent felons immediately after completion of sentence.
• New Mexico: In 2001, the Legislature adopted a bill repealing the state’s lifetime ban on ex-felon voting. In 2005, a bill was passed that requires the Department of Corrections to provide notification of completion of sentence to the Secretary of State’s office.
• Rhode Island: In 2006, Rhode Island voters approved a referendum to amend the state constitution and restore voting rights to persons currently serving a sentence of probation or parole.
• Tennessee: In 2006, the Tennessee legislature amended the country’s most complex restoration system by greatly simplifying the procedure. All persons convicted of a felony (except electoral or serious violent offenses) are now eligible to have their right to vote restored upon completion of sentence and may apply for a “certificate of restoration” from the Board of Probation and Parole. All applicants must also satisfy any court-ordered restitution or child support obligations.