The Briefing Room
General Category => Politics/Government => Topic started by: rangerrebew on January 07, 2019, 04:38:10 pm
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Pelosi Introduces Legislation That Will Force States to Allow Convicted Felons to Vote
(CNSNews.com) - House Speaker Nancy Pelosi (D.-Calif.) introduced the first piece of legislation [1] for the newly convened 116th Congress and it is a political reform bill that includes a provision that would force states to allow convicted felons to vote as long as they were no longer actually in prison.
“H.R. 1 will create automatic voter registration across the country; ensure that individuals who have completed felony sentences have their full rights restored; expand early voting and simplify absentee voting; and modernize the U.S. voting system,†says a summary of the bill released by Pelosi [2].
Source URL: https://www.cnsnews.com/news/article/cnsnewscom-staff/pelosi-introduces-legislation-will-force-states-allow-convicted-felons (https://www.cnsnews.com/news/article/cnsnewscom-staff/pelosi-introduces-legislation-will-force-states-allow-convicted-felons)
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Keep your eye on the left hand while she is waving the right hand around, she is up to something.
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Keep your eye on the left hand while she is waving the right hand around, she is up to something.
Why would Pelosi bring up an issue that would be unpopular with most of the public. Convicted felons lose a lot of rights and one of them is the right to vote. That is a good thing.
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Why would Pelosi bring up an issue that would be unpopular with most of the public. Convicted felons lose a lot of rights and one of them is the right to vote. That is a good thing.
I used to think this too, but I am concerned it could become a way for a malicious government to disenfranchise large segments of the population.
For example, imagine if your state legislature passed a bill infringing on 2A rights, so much so that many firearm owners just disobey it. Then the state enforces this law and these gun owners become convicted felons. Because it would be impractical to arrest and jail all these people, their sentence might be something light, like a fine, but they also lose their ability to vote.
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I used to think this too, but I am concerned it could become a way for a malicious government to disenfranchise large segments of the population.
For example, imagine if the your state legislature passed a bill infirgining on 2A rights, so much so that many firearm owners just disobeyed it. Then they enforced this law and most gun owners in this state became convicted felons. Because it would be impractical to arrest and jail these people, their sentence might be something light, like a fine, but they also lose their ability to vote.
Yeah, but.... the leftists could have done that already under Obama. They didn't because of the obvious reason. We (their opposition) are very well armed and equipped to resist them (and pissed off just enough to start a revolution if they tried to pull something like that).
Besides... becoming a "convicted felon" would take time, court costs and taxpayer money (lots of it) for them to convict all gun owners who disobeyed an unconstitutional law. I really don't think that even the rabid leftists dare go that far.
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Yesterday I approached a table with a petition to our newly elected democrat House Rep, supporting this HR # 1, bill.
I engaged with the three gals manning the table. I mowed them down, 1,2 and finally the sharpest of them, took me on.
My GOP district went democrat, when Rohrabacher ran a weak campaign, and the dems worked their butts off.
And they are still working their butts off, while our losers slink off stage; Ryan Gowdy, etc.
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It is a State issue. FL just passed this law giving back the right to vote to felons who have served their time and meet certain criteria. My hunch is Nancy would like to see all felons, whether they are citizens or not the right to vote.
I so wish she'd step down.
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Pelosi Introduces Legislation That Will Force States to Allow Convicted Felons to Vote
(CNSNews.com) - House Speaker Nancy Pelosi (D.-Calif.) introduced the first piece of legislation [1] for the newly convened 116th Congress and it is a political reform bill that includes a provision that would force states to allow convicted felons to vote as long as they were no longer actually in prison.
“H.R. 1 will create automatic voter registration across the country; ensure that individuals who have completed felony sentences have their full rights restored; expand early voting and simplify absentee voting; and modernize the U.S. voting system,†says a summary of the bill released by Pelosi [2].
Source URL: https://www.cnsnews.com/news/article/cnsnewscom-staff/pelosi-introduces-legislation-will-force-states-allow-convicted-felons (https://www.cnsnews.com/news/article/cnsnewscom-staff/pelosi-introduces-legislation-will-force-states-allow-convicted-felons)
Transparently this is an attempt to create more Democrat voters. But in principle, if someone actually has "paid their debt to society", why shouldn't they have their rights restored? And if the question is federal elections then a federal standard would make sense to me.
However my position would be that their 2A rights are restored also; reasonable exceptions could be made for violent felons.
Early voting and simplified absentee voting are just additional riders to help the Democrats cheat.
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Yeah, but.... the leftists could have done that already under Obama. They didn't because of the obvious reason. We (their opposition) are very well armed and equipped to resist them (and pissed off just enough to start a revolution if they tried to pull something like that).
Besides... becoming a "convicted felon" would take time, court costs and taxpayer money (lots of it) for them to convict all gun owners who disobeyed an unconstitutional law. I really don't think that even the rabid leftists dare go that far.
1) I don't think that "they didn't do it yet" is an effective argument.
2) The "they would revolt" argument doesn't hold water. Look at the ballot initiative they just passed in Washington state. If you suggested this would happen 30 years ago, people would have said the same thing.
3) Rabid leftists have taken over the Dem party. They hate you and I and will do whatever they can get away with.
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Transparently this is an attempt to create more Democrat voters. But in principle, if someone actually has "paid their debt to society", why shouldn't they have their rights restored? And if the question is federal elections then a federal standard would make sense to me.
However my position would be that their 2A rights are restored also; reasonable exceptions could be made for violent felons.
Early voting and simplified absentee voting are just additional riders to help the Democrats cheat.
Problem is.... thanks to liberal judges and leftist bleeding hearts (not for innocent infants in the womb, but for convicted criminals that were guilty).... some or most of these convicts never really "pay their debt to society". Not even close.
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Problem is.... thanks to liberal judges and leftist bleeding hearts (not for innocent infants in the womb, but for convicted criminals that were guilty).... some or most of these convicts never really "pay their debt to society". Not even close.
@libertybele
I will take up with @HoustonSam on this one...
Plenty of guys commit felonies when in their youth - If you had ever been rowdy, a bit intoxicated, and become belligerent with a cop during an arrest, the struggle there could well become a felony - Stupid? YES. That one mistake will net you a 5 year bit and revocation of voting rights and the right to bear arms, for the rest of your life.
Just about any redneck boy could enter though those gates. The five years for (even mistakenly) elbowing a cop is a very high bill to pay, not to mention loss of rights your whole life long.
I can think of two guys off the top of my head that did just that, and later came out, and got married, and raised their families, never being a bother again. That's a heavy price for a momentary lapse in youth.
However, I do not believe in automatically restoring those rights - I think that should be done on an individual basis with the passage of some time... But I do very much believe that a judge should be able to absolve a man and restore those rights when youthful indiscretion has passed.
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Transparently this is an attempt to create more Democrat voters. But in principle, if someone actually has "paid their debt to society", why shouldn't they have their rights restored? And if the question is federal elections then a federal standard would make sense to me.
However my position would be that their 2A rights are restored also; reasonable exceptions could be made for violent felons.
Early voting and simplified absentee voting are just additional riders to help the Democrats cheat.
Have they paid their debt (which I don't believe in the concept of, being punished isn't "paying a debt"), or is (/could be) part of that debt losing voting rights permanently? IMO, just because for example prison time isn't permanent doesn't mean other parts of the punishment couldn't be.
As far as federal elections, I know they've monkeyed around with the states a lot, mostly in the name of civil rights, but IMO:
Each State shall appoint, in such Manner as the Legislature thereof may direct, a Number of Electors, equal to the whole Number of Senators and Representatives to which the State may be entitled in the Congress: but no Senator or Representative, or Person holding an Office of Trust or Profit under the United States, shall be appointed an Elector.
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If these people paid debt, why shouldn't they be able to vote?
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If these people paid debt, why shouldn't they be able to vote?
The cost of housing each prisoner to taxpayers is astronomical... and rising. Since we don't force prisoners to actually "work"... how have they paid that debt?
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Have they paid their debt (which I don't believe in the concept of, being punished isn't "paying a debt"), or is (/could be) part of that debt losing voting rights permanently? IMO, just because for example prison time isn't permanent doesn't mean other parts of the punishment couldn't be.
As far as federal elections, I know they've monkeyed around with the states a lot, mostly in the name of civil rights, but IMO:
Each State shall appoint, in such Manner as the Legislature thereof may direct, a Number of Electors, equal to the whole Number of Senators and Representatives to which the State may be entitled in the Congress: but no Senator or Representative, or Person holding an Office of Trust or Profit under the United States, shall be appointed an Elector.
IMO, this has nothing to do with rights and everything to do with ballot harvesting, from a segment of the population they (Dems) haven't had access to. Pelosi doesn't care about people's rights.
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I used to think this too, but I am concerned it could become a way for a malicious government to disenfranchise large segments of the population.
@BassWrangler
@mystery-ak
In Texas, it works like this:
1. When an election happens and people who are registered to vote are in jail: if they have not been convicted, they vote a mail/absentee ballot.
2. Convicted people in jail/prison cannot vote even if registered to vote.
3. When a person serves his/her time in prison and is released, or is on probation but out of jail/prison, the person may vote if already registered or register to vote.
A person on probation, can also run for public office. This is why I know how this works in Texas as in my county we had a Democrat guy on probation run for office.
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The cost of housing each prisoner to taxpayers is astronomical... and rising. Since we don't force prisoners to actually "work"... how have they paid that debt?
As with most things these days it all about the money. Prisons are big business. Private prisons are big business. In Idaho, they let more people out who are more likely to re-offend before people who are parole eligible and less likely to return. Keep the system overfull. Farm more people to the private prisons.
One winner under Trump: The private prison industry
https://www.cbsnews.com/news/one-winner-under-trump-the-private-prison-industry/ (https://www.cbsnews.com/news/one-winner-under-trump-the-private-prison-industry/)
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The cost of housing each prisoner to taxpayers is astronomical... and rising. Since we don't force prisoners to actually "work"... how have they paid that debt?
What does that have to do with voters rights?
I don't know where you are...but in Tx the inmates are required to "work".
Actually..if you give up a part of your life to pay for a crime...that's the biggest punishment. Those that don't learn will end up back in the hoosgow.
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What does that have to do with voters rights?
It has to do with that comment about felons "paying their debt to society". Compared to what they cost taxpayers to house and feed, their debt never really gets paid back.
I don't know where you are...but in Tx the inmates are required to "work".
But the work never does rise to the level of equivalence re: what is being spent on them.... does it.
Actually..if you give up a part of your life to pay for a crime...that's the biggest punishment. Those that don't learn will end up back in the hoosgow.
If you do the crime, you do the time. It's called consequences (and reality). Some have to learn the hard way. The problem with that lesson learned comes in when some liberal judge lets the bad guys out early due to political correctness, overcrowding, etc. Repeat offenders should never be allowed out again, IMO. If they don't learn their lesson the first time, they probably never will.
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Have they paid their debt (which I don't believe in the concept of, being punished isn't "paying a debt"), or is (/could be) part of that debt losing voting rights permanently? IMO, just because for example prison time isn't permanent doesn't mean other parts of the punishment couldn't be.
As far as federal elections, I know they've monkeyed around with the states a lot, mostly in the name of civil rights, but IMO:
Each State shall appoint, in such Manner as the Legislature thereof may direct, a Number of Electors, equal to the whole Number of Senators and Representatives to which the State may be entitled in the Congress: but no Senator or Representative, or Person holding an Office of Trust or Profit under the United States, shall be appointed an Elector.
Your position is very reasonable @InHeavenThereIsNoBeer. Some parts of a punishment could be temporary and other parts permanent; I suppose that is the de facto condition today. The permanent loss of rights, beyond a period of incarceration, seems questionable to me but my sense of it is a reaction, not a well-reasoned position.
On Constitutional grounds I think you are very solid - the states are supposed to be in charge of election procedures, whether local, state, or federal, and on that basis the US Congress should not have the authority to force states to restore the franchise to convicted felons. However I have long felt that this is a defect in the Constitution. Were it up to me, all federal elections would be conducted according to standard federal procedures.
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It has to do with that comment about felons "paying their debt to society". Compared to what they cost taxpayers to house and feed, their debt never really gets paid back.
But the work never does rise to the level of equivalence re: what is being spent on them.... does it.
If you do the crime, you do the time. It's called consequences (and reality). Some have to learn the hard way. The problem with that lesson learned comes in when some liberal judge lets the bad guys out early due to political correctness, overcrowding, etc. Repeat offenders should never be allowed out again, IMO. If they don't learn their lesson the first time, they probably never will.
Ummm...o.k. @XenaLee . Whatever you say.
If you screw up one time you are d@mned forever. Got it! wink777
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Ummm...o.k. @XenaLee . Whatever you say.
If you screw up one time you are d@mned forever. Got it! wink777
Did you miss the part about....
If you do the crime, you do the time. It's called consequences (and reality). Some have to learn the hard way. The problem with that lesson learned comes in when some liberal judge lets the bad guys out early due to political correctness, overcrowding, etc. Repeat offenders should never be allowed out again, IMO. If they don't learn their lesson the first time, they probably never will.
Apparently so.
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I have sen it work both ways. Some guys go to prison and it turns them around and keeps them on the straight and narrow for the rest of their lives. They get an education, learn a trade and become productive member of society. Then there are the others the only thing they learn to do is be bigger drains on society.
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They’ve either paid their debt (debt comes in many forms so don’t reply about the financial side of prisons) or they haven’t. Which is it?
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No wonder they were in such a hurry to pass prison reform. So they could let all those Democratic voters out.
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@BassWrangler
@mystery-ak
In Texas, it works like this:
1. When an election happens and people who are registered to vote are in jail: if they have not been convicted, they vote a mail/absentee ballot.
2. Convicted people in jail/prison cannot vote even if registered to vote.
3. When a person serves his/her time in prison and is released, or is on probation but out of jail/prison, the person may vote if already registered or register to vote.
A person on probation, can also run for public office. This is why I know how this works in Texas as in my county we had a Democrat guy on probation run for office.
Thanks, @Victoria33. Does it matter if the offense was a felony? IOW, after release from jail, is a felon allowed to vote again?
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Yeah, but.... the leftists could have done that already under Obama. They didn't because of the obvious reason. We (their opposition) are very well armed and equipped to resist them (and pissed off just enough to start a revolution if they tried to pull something like that).
Besides... becoming a "convicted felon" would take time, court costs and taxpayer money (lots of it) for them to convict all gun owners who disobeyed an unconstitutional law. I really don't think that even the rabid leftists dare go that far.
A conviction isn't really necessary if they can bankrupt you through lawyer's fees and dragged out proceedings. Ask any of the bikers arrested at Twin Peaks in Waco. There are other ways to disenfranchise people.Crushing them economically doesn't even require a good case, just a willing prosecutor.
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Thanks, @Victoria33. Does it matter if the offense was a felony? IOW, after release from jail, is a felon allowed to vote again?
@BassWrangler
"...is a felon allowed to vote again?" Yes, if he/she has served their time and released from prison. He/she can be on probation.
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@BassWrangler
"...is a felon allowed to vote again?" Yes, if he/she has served their time and released from prison. He/she can be on probation.
Thanks, @Victoria33