For this weeks Stop the ACLU Blog Burst, I would like to tell you about a local case.

In this case, the issue is felons and voting rights.

Washington is one of many states that revoke the voting rights of felons.  The law in Washington allows for the eventual restoral of their voting rights, following their prison term, paying all fines and restitution, probation and parole.

In other words, satisfy the courts judgment first, and then you can vote.

Most of it is not really at issue.  The part that makes the ACLU see red is the aspect of the court ordered fines and restitution.  They contend this is an effective poll tax, whereby only the rich felons can vote, not the poor ones.  Since court ordered fines and or restitution can be large, it can take years for a felon to satisfy the court.  The felons argue that if they are making a good faith effort to make payments, they should be able to vote.

I personally don't have an issue with them having to wait to satisfy the debt, but I can see their point.  At the same time though, no one forced them to commit a felony.  And if there is a price to be paid, let them pay it.  That is part of the sentence.  

And be clear, this is not what some call the minor ir petty criminals, the people convicted of misdemeanor possession or such, this is convicted felons only.  In theory, if the law is doing its job, they are the more hardcore of the criminals.

Now, that said, should their be a mechanism to deal with unreasonable fines and or penalties?  I think so.  But that is a local and legislative issue.  And in reality that is secondary from the felon who refuses to pay his restitution and still wants his or her voting rights restored.  I have no statistics, but it would be interesting to see how widespread this is.

And one can argue that the victims waiting restitution have a right to know the person who committed a crime against them is still having to suffer some fashion of restriction until that debt is paid.