[Graybeard58]

Its nice to see a republican parolee. You're welcome here. I'm a small town judge. I have to say that the majority (remember small town) of defendants are indigent, on some sort of public assistance and pretty accustomed to the government taking care of them or owing them. Evidenced by 95% of cases in my court qualify for a public defender. So, I'd say the majority would probably vote for the "entitlement" party, ie., democrat.

You are probably right about indigent parolees tending to be in the entilement party.

My brother-in-law spent 27 years of his life in prison and he tells me that cons seem to follow the general population in their political leanings in that the young ones tend to be liberal and the older ones conservative.

I am not a parolee but I am a convicted felon and a life long conservative.

Two years ago I was arrested tried and convicted of possessing a weapon. Not using it, not brandishing it, not threatening anyone with it - Just having it and in Illinois that's a felony..

The law is wrong of course but the law is the law and I was guilty. After about $7,000 in lawyers fees, probation costs and fine and 18 months probation I am still a convicted felon and that's the only crime on my record in my 59 years of life.

There are plenty of people here who think I shouldn't be allowed to vote, one poster suggested that felons should be required to be branded on the forehead with the letter "F'.

Illinois allows me to vote, for which I am thankful. In fact their are no fewer than 41 states where I can legally vote if I were a resident of those states.

I can never legally own a fire arm short of a pardon and that's not likely. I don't have a brother named slick willy in the white house.

Whether felons may vote or not is a state matter and should stay that way and Hillary needs to keep her mouth shut on the matter - I don't look for that to happen either.

[lOKKI]

Without wanting to attack you personally, I think that it's a fair statement to say that most people who have been convicted of a felony are, at a minimum, guilty of having exercised very bad judgment. This morning on NPR as I was driving to the office (sigh) I heard a member of an activist group which advocates making it easier for felons to vote, claim that Florida's difficult rules for qualifying ex-felons to vote had probably changed the outcome of the national election four years ago.

The thought that felons (see my comments about bad judgment, above) are an important voting group for the Democratic party disturbs me. I don't want our elections decided by a group of people who have demonstrated very bad judgment in their affairs