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Almost every state imposes restrictions on voting by people who have committed felonies
National Review, March 28, 2005
* Almost every state imposes restrictions on voting by people who have committed felonies. Senators Clinton, Kerry, and Boxer are sponsoring a bill to force every state to allow felons to vote. Proponents say that once out of prison, criminals have repaid their debt to society and should regain their rights.
They also say that the "disenfranchisement" of felons--what others would call their surrender of the right to vote by choosing to commit felonies--disproportionately affects blacks. We suspect that Senators Clinton et al. are at least as moved by the fact that it disproportionately affects Democrats. Our law does not treat felonies with perfect indifference once a sentence has been served: States regulate felons' gun ownership, for example. States may reasonably worry that the political interests of felons as a voting bloc would be unhealthy for society at large. If we are locking up too many people, then perhaps we should soften the laws. What we should not do is force the states to compensate for the Democrats' failures in winning the votes of the law-abiding.
COPYRIGHT 2005 National Review, Inc.
COPYRIGHT 2008 Gale, Cengage Learning
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