March 30, 2006
Leniency toward felon voters
Both Thurston County and Clark County have decided not to press charges against the felons who committed yet another felony and voted illegally in recent elections.
Posted by Stefan Sharkansky at March 30, 2006
03:54 PM | Email This
1. Book 'em Danno.
2. Has anyone else noticed that while judges up through the supremes are raping the law with erroneous rulings, that elected officials who've taken oathes to uphold the law refuse to do it?
What are we going to do to return Washington to a state of laws and not a state of political and judicial abuses? With an electorate living in apathy and unaware of what is going on, a media actively working to suppress and downplay the growing abuses, and a Democrat party and its liberal base working every minute of every day to further undermine laws and standards, is it hopeless?
3. Isn't voting covered under state and/or federal regulation? If so, how does the county have any say whether or not someone is to be charged?
It seems to me that it should immediately be reported to the proper jurisdiction.
4. MJC,
Excellent questions. Perhaps the jackboot of tyranny, applied liberally, will help the populace at large begin to ponder the same things.
5. Can't a citizen's arrest be pressed against a suspected felon?
6. I agree that under present law, voting as a felon is ILLEGAL, and I am appalled at this.
It will be interesting to see exactly which way the tide goes in the next few months, however...
7. MJC, political corruption is the inevitable result of one party rule.
8. Howyousdoin
Being a convicted felon has never stopped a wise guy from voting, early and often!
Forgetaboutit
9. The bottom line is if fraud is accepted for felons voting does that mean they also allow illegal aliens to vote. If you let a criminal vote it must mean that criminals of all types are a protected class. How many other illegal activities do they find acceptable. Voting illegal is a problem in this state. Voting Often has been and may continue to be a problem. If they go to all mail voting I guess they will have the prisons do the counting. They can do a very good job of adding and subtracting. ie Adding to democratic canidates and subtracting from republican canidates. Then again KC elections proves they are very good at that also. When it is acceptable to vote illegally the system is broken. Those who fight for a illegal voting system will in the long run destroy this state. They have already removed thousands of jobs from boeing. The worlds largest cannery no longer open. Who will be next to pack up and leave? But then who needs jobs. The government can pay all the bills right.
10. Local and state officials are violating their oaths of office by not upholding the laws of the land. But so are federal officials, like the DA for this region. Illegal voting can involve a federal crime. If nothing else, it violates the equal protection clause. Every illegal vote effectively disenfranchises a legal vote, thereby violating the disfranchised voter's right to equal protection (they've effectively lost their right to have their ballot count equally even though they've been convicted of no crime that requires the forfeiture of their franchise).
11. The misguided judge, who invalidated the law suspending voting privileges for convicted felons for non-payment of debt, is irrational. The amounts he called "debt" is an essential part of the sentnece imposed to punish a serious crime. This "debt" is the monetary fine and/or restitution ordered paid to the victims of the crime. In effect, this judge undermined an essential element of our criminal justice system by canceling part of the sentence although ignorant of the facts and circumstances upon which the sentence was premised.
Jail time, fines, restituion, and court costs are the punishment assessed by a judge with full knowledge of the crimes involved. Felonies are anti-social conduct that has been outlawed and punished. A felony conviction results in the suspension of many of the felon's civil rights and prvileges, including voting. Restoration of those rights and privileges is been conditioned upon confinement and payment in full of all fines and restiotuion ordered by the trial judge.
Our Legislature in their wisdom decided that voting privileges could not be restored until the sentence was completed in full. Now a judge, by allowing his idealogy to trump his duty to faithfully enforce the laws designed to protect citizens, has undemined a critical element of our criminal law. Such misguided conduct is why judicial discretion is limited with mandatory sentencing laws.
The other flaw in our state's judicial system is the way judges are selected. Butthat is a subject for another time. Suffice it to say that too many of our judges are unqualified.