I was planning on writing a GF on felons not being able to vote and how unfair that was, but then Donald Trump became a felon recently, so I'm kind of spinning my wheels in the dirt on this one.
For some reason unbeknownst to me or anyone with a decent brain in their heads, it's illegal for felons to vote. Or, at least, that's what I thought. It turns out it's different from state to state. Some states don't abridge this right. Some states say you can't vote while you're behind bars. Others say you can vote again after a period of time. Others say you can never vote again.
Why? I kind of get it if you can't vote while in prison, as part of your punishment, but as soon as you're out you should be able to vote again no matter what. The argument could be made that felons could tank elections when it comes to, say, judges. That they would seek vengeance against those who sentenced them. To that, I say yes. A judge should fear that. A judge should make sure they're adjudicating properly.
Unless, of course, you want to demoralize a person for the rest of their lives. That seems to be the case here. A great American pastime is demoralizing prisoners and former prisoners. Once you're in the system, you're fucked. They want to take as much as possible away from you. Up to and including your pride. Especially your pride. They find that the most delicious.
I cast my line in the Google waters and saw that a lot of these laws were founded in the post-Civil War days, possibly as an additional barrier to former slaves voting. That makes a lot of sense considering the times. It also makes sense that the US would not want former Confederates voting in elections, too, and how many of them were up on felony charges?
Which is everything I wanted to say before Trump got found guilty of 34 felonies. My immediate thought was hooray! Followed by, I'll bet he gets a slap on the wrist. Followed by, fuck, I can't write that GF anymore. Anything to stop that motherfucker from voting would be good.
But then I had to stop myself. Think of all the people I'd be condemning just to get one piece of shit. So fuck it. Even Trump should be able to vote in the upcoming election. We need to end felon disenfranchisement ASAP even if it does mean letting a shit weasel off the hook.
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