WA asks appeals bench to suspend felon voter ruling
Attorney General Rob McKenna and Secretary of State Sam Reed are asking the 9th Circuit Court of Appeals to suspend a ruling that Washington must allow felons to register to vote while still serving their sentence. The hold would maintain the status quo — a ban on voting by felons in prison or on community supervision — while the state attempts to overturn the decision in the U.S. Supreme Court.
Jeff Even, deputy solicitor general representing Reed, the governor and the prison system in this case, filed paperwork with the appeals court, which covers the Western states and is based in San Francisco. He said attorneys for the felons do not oppose the move.
The 9th Circuit, in a 2-1 ruling by a three-judge panel, ruled a week ago that the state’s ban violates the federal Voting Rights Act. The court, which overturned the U.S. District Court in Spokane, said the state’s criminal justice system incarcerates a disproportionate number of minorities, and that the automatic ban on voting violates those individuals’ rights.
McKenna, Reed and Governor Gregoire are united in the effort to gain a hearing of the U.S. Supreme Court. The state has until mid-April to file its brief, and McKenna said many of the 47 other states with a similar ban are expected to support Washington’s position. If the court takes the case, it probably would be heard in the fall term.
4 thoughts on “WA asks appeals bench to suspend felon voter ruling”
No matter what race a prisoner is, why deny their right to vote? In the representative system government we live in, voting for our government is a right that even a prisoner shouldn’t be denied.
The right to vote, like any other right, is subject to regulation. Washington’s regulation, which suspends felon’s voting rights until they have served their sentence and paid any claims ordered by the court, seem quite reasonable to me.
Suspending the ruling of the 9th Circuit Court of Appeals until after the Supreme Court has heard the case and ruled on it seems reasonable, too. Were it not reasonable, I doubt lawyers for the felons seeking to restore their voting rights would have remained silent on the matter.
Unfortunately, I have a felony record and was incarcerated for some eight years. I personally believe that a person that commits a felony has lost all rights short of their constitutional rights. I guess that is the argument. Since my release in 2002 I have restored my right to vote. That was quit the comedy show, seems no one really knew what I should do to restore my rights. As I was told nearly all hard core felons do not attempt to restore their rights. I finally succeeded and voted in the national elections. To the public I am sorry for having to now be labeled a felon. But since my release I have been a model citizen.
Neither the Washington State Constitution nor the Washington Revised Code say that persons convicted of FEDERAL crimes lose their right to vote, even while incarcerated. (Check it out!) ‘Infamous crimes’ include those sentencing a person to death (or time) in a state institution.
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