If You Want to Vote, You’re Better Off Committing a Felony
State Rep. Sherry Appleton, D-Poulsbo, filed a bill for the upcoming legislation that would allow those with no-contact orders against them to be able to get a discharge order if they who have done their time and paid their fines. What that would do is give back voting rights and jury service rights back to people who have committed misdemeanor acts, she said. Those who have committed class B or C felonies already have this right, she said. This bill would extend it to those who have committed lesser crimes.
The bill reads:
The legislature finds that restoration of the right to vote and serve on a jury, for individuals who have satisfied every other obligation of their sentence, best serves to reintegrate them into society, even if a no-contact order exists. Therefore, the legislature further finds clarification of the existing statute is desirable to provide clarity to the courts that a certificate of discharge shall be issued, while the no-contact order remains in effect, once other obligations are completed.
Appleton also filed a bill that would move the February special election date from the first Tuesday to the second and would reduce the deadline to file for a special election from 52 days to 45. It would also remove special elections from March and May. That bill would also strike the election from being held on the same day as the presidential primary in presidential election years.
She also has a bill to exempt some security plans for civil detainment from public records requests. She said this bill is so inmates can’t make public records requests to know how law enforcement officials would try to capture them should they escape.
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December 12th, 2008 at 8:43 pm
The bills sound logical to me except for the ones concerning elections. I’d need Bob Meadows take on those before forming an opinion. He isn’t a politician.
I didn’t know that one lost their right to vote just because they were under a “no contact” order. Often in divorces, both parties file them against one another even though there have been no misdemeanors. Maybe I’m missing something here.