Friday, January 15, 2010

Wiggy On Felons And Voting

James Wigderson has a post up, which is his weekly column for the Waukesha Freeman. In said column, Wiggy tackles the issue of whether felons should be allowed to vote:
Asking a felon to vote does not diminish legitimate votes. Asking someone who is no longer incarcerated by the state to vote does not harm democracy. Asking a felon to vote only makes that person a better, more responsible citizen.

We know that in those states where we can measure the progress of felons that do vote they are half as likely to re-offend. We can argue the cause and effect, but there is a relationship, and we would be fools not to recognize it and take advantage.

Democrats in the legislature are debating whether they have the votes to pass the voting rights bill. Admittedly, the timing is terrible, as the first prisoners are coming out now under the early release program. Nobody wants to be seen as soft on crime.

However, it appears that they are close to having enough support to put the bill on the legislative agenda. If that happens, Wisconsin Republicans should remember 14 Republican governors have already allowed this change in their states. Republicans can support the change in the law here, too.

Well stated, James.

4 comments:

  1. Didn't the felons have the right to vote before committing their crimes?? Clearly...having the right to vote didn't make them better or more responsible citizens.

    ReplyDelete
  2. Sometimes, people do make bad choices. But if they do their time and pay their debt, does that mean that they should always be punished? (Depending on the crime, of course. I don't think murderers should be treated like a kid caught holding some pot.)

    ReplyDelete
  3. Well put capper. I've written fairly extensively on the topic, I think it is important and I have been monitoring the bill closely.

    ReplyDelete
  4. There was a time in America when we were deciding if we should let women vote. Now it's felons. How far we've come! At this point why not let juveniles vote too? After all it's their future,

    Every woman votes based on how hot, cute, cool, etc, the candidate is. That's why there's so much opposition to Sarah Palin. The fear that every man will vote for her just because she's hot, cute, cool, etc. And that's true. Why else did McCain pick her? (For her brains? LOL)

    I've always said, once you're in the toilet you might as well just reach up and flush.

    Let's all vote. May the best felon win.

    ReplyDelete