Feb 02 2007
My Views on Felon Enfranchisement Legislation - HB 1473
The below just got sent to Rep. Darnelle from my e-mail.
2 Feb. 2007
State Representative Jeannie Darnelle
darneille.jeannie@leg.wa.gov
Dear State Representative Darnelle;
I will be blunt and brief and hopefully somewhere bordering on civil. Being a victim of at least 3.5 years of relentless bullying from Sedro-Woolley High School to the point of being physically and mentally damaged, I am rather hard on criminals and must inquire into your conscience.
How could you and your other co-sponsors not withdraw your legislation after the testimony on 31 January is beyond me. At least the State House Democrats should be credited with blinking before proceeding. I encourage you to do the right thing and withdraw this legislation or at least let HB 1473 die. Let HB 1473 die for those whom died and were harmed at the hands of felons – let the felons pay all penalties before granting a return to civil society. I don’t know about you, but I find that rather progressive.
I also don’t know about you, but it appears to me as the lead sponsor you don’t even have the guts transparency to put a press release on your website about this legislation – and that tells Washingtonians a lot. The people need to know what their legislators are doing – and when legislators are proud and unashamed of the work they do in Olympia, they post press releases on their websites. But just like with the supermajority shield for property owners in the dead of winter^, it appears you Democrats want to conduct business with as much stealth as possible. Well, thank G*d for the Associated Press, for Sound Politics, for the House Republicans’ posting the MP3 of testimony opposing HB 1473 and for e-mail.
I just hope you come to your senses and please do the right thing for your party and for our state – withdraw this legislation. And please tell the felon advocates supporting HB 1473 to go to the direct democratic process, the best forum for a citizenship initiative.
^I support a “simple” majority for school levies only on a fixed date statewide, whether in the spring or the autumn.
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People used to value their franchise so highly that the prospect of losing their vote actually was thought to act as a deterrant to criminal acts. Now, not so much, perhaps. Is it surprising that Democrats. want to allow felons the vote, when polls of felons show that they, in large numbers, favor the Democrats.**To Democrat readers: Not casting aspersions here,. Incarcerated felons who were interviewed about how they’d vote, or how they voted if they returned illegal ballots overwhelmingly favored Democrats in the last gubernatorial race in Washington state.