I remember reading something about Secretary of State Sam Reed commenting that our voter laws should be more like Oregon’s regarding voting rights of convicted criminals who have served their time. Oregon simply states that if you are out of jail you are eligible to vote. This simplifies administration and follow up.
In Washington, the County Auditor’s have to rely on the justice system to let them know when a criminal has paid their debt to society. The problem here is, that this includes probation time and restitution payments. Who tracks this stuff? Do we need a bureaucracy to administer this effort?
Often the restitution goes on for years and those trying to change their lives and become productive never get to vote. Are we overreacting? Wouldn’t voting give these ex-cons a taste of what total rehabilitation would bring to them?
Does denying them the right to vote decrease recidivism? I doubt it. This is not a bleeding heart call on behalf of ex-cons; rather, it is an argument for a practical solution to an unwieldy system.
[tags]Felons, Voting[/tags]