What baffles me most, is why he would think this was something he had to clarify during the campaign season. When candidates point a political gun at their own heads and pull the trigger, I just watch in amazement.
I am not convinced that all felons need to lose their voting rights forever. If they have cleaned up their act, then I don’t have a problem with them voting. If they haven’t, or have been convicted several times, they shouldn’t be voting.
See post #16.
The first thing O Malley and his Democrats did when they got full power in Maryland was to restore voting for felons, then they raised taxes, then they got re-elected, then they raised taxes again.
My point is a broader one. The compassionate conservative or compassionate liberal FEDERAL government should not be telling states how to set their voting rules. That is historically a new idea now ~ 1960s and apparently widely accepted, and it is how Obama is suing states for requiring voter ID. If an ex-felon cant vote in a certain state and doesn't like it he can more to another state like Maryland.
Besides too many Republicans wanting to expand Federal power, I also see comments here on this thread calling voting a right. This is also liberal idea and is also being used daily by liberals now to argue against state voter ID bills. There is no right to voting in the US constitution. States were given the responsibility to make up their own voting regulations by the constitution not the federal government.
But as I stated, each party only says 'the constitution' when the other party is in power and they dont like what they do. When 'my guy' is in office he keeps us safe and so the USC is not that important is the motto.