Politics

Can a felon be denied the Right to vote?

by Robert Randle
09/15/19
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Crystal Mason was sentenced to 5 years in prison for illegally voting in the 2016 presidential election. Her attorneys will take the case before the Texas Court of Appeals and argue that she was wrongfully convicted and ask for a new trial. If the judges reject her request she will go to the State's highest Court, the Texas Court of Criminal Appeals. The Dallas Morning News had an article "Can felons vote in Texas? Sometimes" by reporter Jennifer Emily, which revealed the oftentimes arbitrary and inconsistent conditions or requirements which have to met in order for a felon to be "eligible" to vote; which is NOT necessarily the same thing as casting a vote on the ballot box.

Felons who pay their debt to society (probation, pardon, complete their sentence of incarceration) can register to vote but can't merely show up at a voting booth; they have to re-register?? Someone with a "final conviction" cannot even register to vote, so what exactly is that? Here is what it is NOT: a conviction on appeal; an indictment or merely prosecution for a crime; deferred adjudication (a type of probation that avoids a conviction if the person completes the terms required. Clear as glass; right!

Crystal Mason was already on probation from a federal tax fraud charge, and in addition to her case, the state of North Carolina convicted two felons who voted illegally; which brings up an important constitutional question: Can a Right guaranteed by the Constitution be revoked or diminished?

In Article 6, Section 2 (Supremacy Clause) it stipulates that the Constitution is the Supreme "Law of the Land" and the 15th Amendment Section 1 says: "The right of citizens of the United States to vote shall not be denied or abridged by the United States or by any State on account of race, color, or previous condition of servitude." Look up the word "abridged" in it's legal context. Also, the 14th Amendment, Section 1 says: All persons born or naturalized in the United States and subject to the jurisdiction thereof, are citizens of the United States and of the State wherein they reside. No State shall make or enforce any law which shall abridge the privileges or immunities of citizens of the United States; nor shall any State deprive any person of life, liberty, or property, without due process of law; nor deny to any person within its jurisdiction the equal protection of the laws.

So, when does committing a criminal act and labeled a felon deprive a person the Right guaranteed to them as a citizen? Once a Right is given it CANNOT be revoked under the Constitution. The State, or ANY jurisdiction, including Congress, cannot annul the privileges and immunities granted under the U.S. Constitution. It is quite surprising to me that such abuses have not been challenged in the Supreme Court or that the nation's highest judiciary would approve conduct which offends the Constitution.


Robert Randle
776 Commerce St Apt 701
Tacoma, WA 98402
September 15, 2019
[email protected]