Lets git ‘er done, folks!
Posted on 11/21/2017 4:04:18 PM PST by jazusamo
WASHINGTON – Rep. John Conyers (D-Mich.), the ranking member of the House Judiciary Committee, said that all felons should have the right to vote.
“I’m for allowing people who are incarcerated to have the right to vote. Why not? They’re citizens. No matter what they’ve done, and I’m not defending any of their conduct, but all of it wasn’t bad – but all I’m saying is expanding the vote and eliminating structural barriers is critical,” Conyers said at this month’s annual Legislative & Policy Conference organized by Al Sharpton’s National Action Network (NAN) on Capitol Hill.
“It’s not an exaggeration to say that we’re in a battle for the soul of this nation. What we do is going to affect, not only us, but a lot of people around the world,” he added. “And every day in the courts and in Congress, issues are raised to determine what it means to be an American and what your rights are. Well, we want all of our rights, not some of them.”
Conyers, who made the comments before news broke of sexual harassment complaints and a settlement involving the lawmaker, said Congress should take action to eliminate “strict” voter identification laws at the state level and enact other reforms.
“Make Election Day a national holiday. We shouldn’t have to do this in between work or hope we can get off work or not get paid. We want a paid holiday for those who are working,” Conyers said. “We want to extend voting hours and increase early voting days.”
Conyers urged progressives to remain committed to “expanding the right to vote.”
“In the area of voting rights protections, the Justice Department has literally changed sides since the new administration has come in. They are throwing out some of the modest progress that was beginning to be made. And so we’ve got a lot to do. Voter suppression is now a policy objective of this administration,” he said.
“The myth that voter fraud is rampant and our elections infiltrated by undocumented immigrants continues to be used as a pretext for state legislatures across the country to make it harder for minorities to vote,” the congressman added. “The real objective is to achieve a cynical partisan political outcome. Researchers have found that the laws have a dramatic and discouraging effect on minority turnout.”
Last year, Conyers introduced the Voter Restoration Act that would “amend the National Voter Registration Act of 1993, by prohibiting states from disqualifying individuals convicted of criminal offenses from voting in federal and local elections, and from registering to vote, with the exception of those convicted of murder, manslaughter, or sex crimes.”
Sen. Elizabeth Warren (D-Mass.) argued that Republicans are using the right to vote as a “tool of oppression.”
“Make no mistake, the right to vote is under attack. A right-wing Supreme Court guts voting rights. State legislators ram through voting suppression laws and a so-called election integrity commission wants the states to turn over voters’ birth dates and Social Security numbers – think about that. We will defend the right to vote,” Warren said at the conference.
“We will not add one penny of support and not one ounce of legitimacy to President Trump’s so-called election commission. We will not,” she added. “We will pass a new Voting Rights Advancement Act and we will demand legislation to protect every citizen’s right to vote.”
He has the mind of a imbecile.
He wants to be allowed to vote after his ethics investigation is completed.
Because he fears he will soon be behind bars himself?
“I’m not defending any of their conduct, but all of it wasn’t bad”
“Mah boyee be a goot boyee” and so on.
The new Democratic base = illegals, felons.
The 2nd Amendment reads "Shall Not Be Infringed" -- and yet, neither the Constitution *nor* the Bill of Rights, even pretends to grant universal suffrage.
Why should we? Permanently losing the right to vote is part of the punishment that goes along with being a felon.
don’t look at me, look over there.
Conyers wants felons to vote so he and his wife can vote.
I am not a lawyer, but as I understand it, a felony - once upon a time - was a conviction worthy of death. I know this has changed over time, but that would explain why this forfeited the “privilege” of voting. I’m not sure at all where I stand on this now - putting all felons in the same basket does not really seem right to me. It is clear to me that some felons really have forfeited the right to vote, but by making too many laws a felony we have abused this definition.
I’d be interested in other thoughts on this subject.
Lets git ‘er done, folks!
Yes, I know I want prison inmates voting on law and order issues. /s
How about three strikes and your out? I’ll bet that’s popular with today’s inmates.
Far more people are denied their rights under the the 2nd amendment than are denied the right to vote.
I don’t believe people convicted of domestic violence should have access to guns but they are allowed to vote. In NJ there is a list of at least 30 non-felony offences that stip you of your 2nd amendment rights but not the right to vote.
I’m sure Conyers is Ok with that.
My thought is you commit the crime, you do the time and live with the consequences.
Let the criminal think about that before they commit the crime.
“I am not a lawyer, but as I understand it, a felony - once upon a time - was a conviction worthy of death.”
Not necessarily, although you can’t get the death penalty for a Misdemeanor. As I understand the difference, a Felony carries with it a prison term not less than a year in most states.
That was initially designed to allow Reconstruction governments to deny the vote to white Southerners who had supported the Confederacy.
Per my earlier post, you know that I share your awareness of the penalties, including the loss of voting privileges, associated with being convicted of a felony.
Having said that, I think that you are right. When I was a DC cop, the definition of felony was any crime where the minimum penalty exceeded $1,000 and 1 year in jail. And the law further allowed LEO’s like myself to shoot “fleeing felons”. There was a practical prohibition on this allowance: shooting a gay man fleeing the scene of a sodomy in 1973 may have been legal in the strictest sense, but there would have been severe, career ending consequences.
So let’s go over the schedule of felonies and see if there are practical lines over which we can restore voting rights.
I fully believe that prison inmates should be able to vote for certain offices. Prison librarian, for example
But only for offices held by prisoners within the prison.
If Conyers wants their votes, all he need do is to tell the truth about certain of his past activities and I’m sure he’ll have the opportunity.
And, we the people have been paying for the transportation of women for his sexual liaisons.
Yeah right. He’s getting ready for hisself to vote 100 dimwit ballots from his prison cell
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