Some of the talk along the presidential campaign trail has turned to felons.
Do those who have been convicted of felonies deserve the right to vote? Sure they do … under certain conditions.
It’s becoming a bit of a sore point among many who think that felons must not have their rights of citizenship restored. If they’ve done something egregiously wrong, why, let them pay for the rest of their lives. That’s the mantra.
Virginia Gov. Terry McAuliffe recently granted ex-felons the right to vote in that state, much to the consternation of conservatives who argue that, by golly, McAuliffe is a friend and political ally of Democratic nominee-to-be Hillary Rodham Clinton. So, naturally he’d want to grant ex-felons the right to vote.
Former GOP presidential candidate Ted Cruz of Texas actually said that those who commit crimes are more likely to be Democrats than Republicans. Let’s not paint with too broad a brush, Sen. Cruz.
Texas — of all places! — allows former felons to vote.
Check this out from the Texas Secretary of State’s Office:
http://www.sos.state.tx.us/elections/laws/effects.shtml
If a felon completes all the terms of his or her release from prison — and that includes fulfilling all the parole requirements — then he or she is eligible to register to vote. The restoration of these rights do not extend to those wanting to run for political office.
Honestly, I fail to see why this is a big deal.
A left-leaning website chides the National Rifle Association for opposing the rights of ex-felons to vote while at the same time pushing for the rights of ex-felons to own firearms.
http://thinkprogress.org/justice/2016/05/22/3780685/nra-wants-ex-felons-guns-not-voting-rights/
I won’t wade into that snake pit here. Maybe later.
However, the idea behind incarcerating people convicted of committing serious crimes is to force them to “repay their debt to society.” Once they complete a prison sentence and once they complete the terms of their parole — if they’re let out of The Joint early — then they have paid their debt in full. That’s how the judicial system sees it.
This clearly is a state-by-state issue. It need not enter the federal realm.
I’ve been critical in the past of many Texas laws and those who make them here. On this one, though, the Lone Star State got it right.