Restoring felon voting rights a 'mess' in battleground Florida

Re:Restoring felon voting rights a 'mess' in battleground Fl... by rauhl on Tuesday October 08, 2019 @05:35PM (#21197544)

I think that it’s possible in many states, but very difficult. That seems fair.

Personally, I think that it should be possible but difficult for felons to earn back the right to vote. Not as difficult as earning back the right to bear arms, but more than just completing their sentences. Still, it’s up to each state to set its own rules for these things.

[ Parent | on HN ]

Re:Restoring felon voting rights a 'mess' in battleground Fl... by s1artibartfast on Wednesday October 09, 2019 @02:45AM (#21200701)

Why do you think regaining the right to vote should be more difficult, and for that matter, lost at all?

In my opinion, loss of the right to bear arms only makes sense for violent offenders.

Im not sure what the argument is for the loss of the right to vote is. Is it simply punitive? A deterrent?

[ Parent | on HN ]

Re:Restoring felon voting rights a 'mess' in battleground Fl... by rauhl on Wednesday October 09, 2019 @09:32AM (#21203006)

I think it’s punitive. Felonies are (or should be) truly serious crimes, the worst of the worst — if a crime doesn’t warrant permanently branding someone as outside the norms of civil society, then it shouldn’t be a felony. There should of course also be a process for truly repentant and changes felons to earn back their privileges, but it shouldn’t be easy.

I think that there’s a good argument that we have too many felonies which aren’t actually truly vile crimes. But I also don’t believe that Robert Hansen, John Gotti or the Unabomber should be voting.

[ Parent | on HN ]