Voting felons

Some are of the opinion these days that people who have served time for a felony should be able to vote, assuming of course that they are not still in prison. I think this is short sighted, as does this well written article in TCS. If you are under the impression that some felonies are not harsh enough to strip a person of his civil rights, then work on the felony system, not on the voting system.

It's fair to point out that Felony Nation may have gone too far in declaring certain crimes to be felonies. The argument for the enfranchisement of felons often seems to be a proxy fight against mandatory felony sentencing for low-level drug users. It's political poison to suggest that possession of a smidgen of cocaine ought not to be a felony; the enfranchisement of felons is much more palatable. If we're creating too many felons through the drug laws, let's re-examine the drug laws, instead of demeaning the importance of felonies themselves.

Voting is a right in this country, but obedience to the law is a requirement in this country as well. I think that felons can work their way back into the graces of the system, but they need to earn the right to vote again by being clean after they have paid their due.