Fed Judge says Felons Right to Vote is Not Fairly Obtainable

[GNRPowdeR]

Not sure if I wrote the title well, but that's my take.

Wondering if we could use this mindset for the 2A?

Federal judge strikes down Florida?s ban on voting by felons | Miami Herald

 

[Kutnupe14]

Not at the gray bar hotel, on probation, or parole? Restore their rights and privileges. Seems easy enough.

 

[DeadeyeChrista'sdad]

Yeah. I'm not sure how we got to the point that if little Johnny commits a felony, and does his time, he is still debarred the rights of citizenship. Presumably, in perpetuity.

 

[Beowulf]

Yeah. I'm not sure how we got to the point that if little Johnny commits a felony, and does his time, he is still debarred the rights of citizenship. Presumably, in perpetuity.

Unfortunately, it comes from, what is in my opinion, a misreading of the 14th Amendment, second clause.

Section 2. Representatives shall be apportioned among the several States according to their respective numbers, counting the whole number of persons in each State, excluding Indians not taxed. But when the right to vote at any election for the choice of electors for President and Vice President of the United States, Representatives in Congress, the Executive and Judicial officers of a State, or the members of the Legislature thereof, is denied to any of the male inhabitants of such State, being twenty-one years of age, and citizens of the United States, or in any way abridged, except for participation in rebellion, or other crime, the basis of representation therein shall be reduced in the proportion which the number of such male citizens shall bear to the whole number of male citizens twenty-one years of age in such State.

I bolded the section that has been used, at the Supreme Court level no less, to allow states to bar convicted felons from voting (Richardson v. Ramirez - 1974). Frankly, given that the 14th Amendment was passed right after the Civil War, I'm almost positive that Section 2 was specifically talking about former Confederates and not just blanket giving them all the right to vote again, for fear they just vote all their leaders right back into office and start the whole mess over again and also to punish states for refusing the right to vote to freed slaves.

But more than 100 years later, the Supreme Court decided that it 100% A-OK to deprive felons the right to vote... which just so happened to (coincidentally I'm sure ) remove a giant swathe of African American adults from the eligible voting population (some estimates I have seen says this removes 1 in 13 Black adults). So, there is some irony here that the Supreme Court used a clause specifically put in an amendment to prevent states from depriving African Americans of the right to vote... to deprive African Americans of the right to vote.

 

[phylodog]

We let dead people and non citizens vote, doesn't make much sense to exclude convicted felons. We'll be sending ballots to Russia and China before too much longer. Can pets me much behind?

 

[singlesix]

We let dead people and non citizens vote, doesn't make much sense to exclude convicted felons. We'll be sending ballots to Russia and China before too much longer. Can pets me much behind?

Pets are people too

 

[CampingJosh]

Pets are people too

I've met a lot of voters who can't think as far ahead as the average dog does.

 

[Mgderf]

I've met a lot of voters who can't think as far ahead as the average dog does.

The more I see of some people, the more I like my dog.

 

[JTScribe]

We let dead people and non citizens vote, doesn't make much sense to exclude convicted felons. We'll be sending ballots to Russia and China before too much longer. Can pets me much behind?

Dogs are natural conservatives. I'm for it.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=yfCCwEf_J5A

 

[IndyDave1776]

We let dead people and non citizens vote, doesn't make much sense to exclude convicted felons. We'll be sending ballots to Russia and China before too much longer. Can pets me much behind?

My alpacas keep asking me when they are going to be able to vote!

 

[BehindBlueI's]

The issue wasn't so much the ban on felons voting, it was the process that allowed SOME felons to get the ability to vote back while others could not. The process was basically "the governor says so" and was deemed biased as there was no criteria other than the governor's whim.

 

[Knight Rider]

The issue wasn't so much the ban on felons voting, it was the process that allowed SOME felons to get the ability to vote back while others could not. The process was basically "the governor says so" and was deemed biased as there was no criteria other than the governor's whim.

That pesky 10th amendment. How inconvenient.

 

[Timjoebillybob]

That pesky 10th amendment. How inconvenient.

I'm thinking more due process and equal protection clauses/amendments.

 

[MarkC]

The issue wasn't so much the ban on felons voting, it was the process that allowed SOME felons to get the ability to vote back while others could not. The process was basically "the governor says so" and was deemed biased as there was no criteria other than the governor's whim.

I think this is what is the major problem in this case, the very arbitrary and almost impossible system to navigate to get rights restored. But, I've just read the article, and not the opinion.

 

[HoughMade]

We let dead people and non citizens vote...

I'm not so sure we "let" them vote. They do so illegally....so why can't the felons do the same?