So how is it that convicted felons can't vote but they can run for office?

[Xipe Totec]

Former New York congressman Michael Grimm is a felon who has admitted to hiring undocumented workers, hiding $900,000 from tax authorities and making false statements under oath. To hear him tell it, that’s a reason Staten Island Republicans should vote him back into office.

“It’s almost identical to what the president has been going through,” Grimm says of the federal investigation that led to his imprisonment. “It’s not an accident that under the Obama administration, the Justice Department was used politically. And that is all starting to come out.”

Grimm has uncovered a new reality in the constantly changing world of Republican politics: Criminal convictions, once seen as career-enders, are no longer disqualifying. In the era of President Trump, even time spent in prison can be turned into a positive talking point, demonstrating a candidate’s battle scars in a broader fight against what he perceives as liberal corruption.


https://www.washingtonpost.com/powerpost/crimes-are-no-longer-a-disqualification-for-republican-candidates/2018/04/30/c64a40ac-4807-11e8-827e-190efaf1f1ee_story.html

It seems weird that a felon can't be trusted to vote, but he can run for office as a Republican candidate.

[jberryhill]

1. In many states felons can vote

[thesquanderer]

12. Including New York, the state in question.

I don't know whether there is any state where a felon can't vote but can run...?

[duhneece]

21. All 50 states have different laws-in two states, you can vote in prison

In some, as soon as you're out of prison; in some, as soon as you're 'off paper' (completed the terms of your sentence & have been issued a Certificate of Completion.


https://felonvoting.procon.org/view.resource.php?resourceID=000286

[saidsimplesimon]

2. Is he worse than

Arizona's rump pal Sheriff Joe? It took years to beat him at the ballot box as Sheriff. Will sane or insane voices rule the vote for him in his primary? If they do nominee him, it well help Democratic efforts to GOTV, imo. On to November and victory for all Democrats running for office.

[Xipe Totec]

3. My point is felons should have the right to vote if we're going to let felons run for office. nt

[saidsimplesimon]

4. I agree with your point.

Sorry, I should have made that clear.

[Xipe Totec]

5. Thanks. I want to end the massive disenfranchisement of minorities.

If it means letting Joe Arachnid run for office, so be it. We can take care of him at the ballot box.

[saidsimplesimon]

6. Yes, there

is bigotry in our law enforcement and judicial system that must end. It starts at the ballot box, imo.

[quartz007]

7. If felons run, they go down to defeat by the voters

So there is a natural stop.

If felons are allowed to vote, those votes can elect other felons.

[Xipe Totec]

8. Really? You think so?! That's your argument?

Please elaborate. Explain why felons would only vote for felons, and how there are so many of them that they would instantly become the majority voting block.

[quartz007]

13. I can't think of many felons who got elected!

Voters do not like felons to get power.

[tammywammy]

16. But you'd disenfranchise felons from voting bc they may vote for a felon?

[quartz007]

19. May I correct your statement?

1. I did not say felons should be barred from voting. If they have served their time, and are currently not committing more crimes, they have earned the right to vote.

2. My post was basically in context of the OP. Which wondered why felons can run but can't vote. My response is felons seldom win statewide or congressional elections. Voters do not like voting for convicted felons.

On the other hand some states allow felons to vote, and they are allowed to vote for other felons. If this Grimm dude made many friends in prison, he could win all those votes, which he does not deserve.

[quartz007]

22. Take example of Michael Grimm

He is a convicted felon, running for office. While in prison,
he must have associated and befriended a few inmates.
Would you be happy, if in a close contest the votes from his prison buddies put him over the line?

As my other post said, any felon who has served his time and is leading a crime free life has earned the right to vote.

[bearsfootball516]

10. That's some really backwards logic...

[quartz007]

14. more factual and realistic than backwards

although I will concede not all felons will vote for other felons running for office. OTOH very few felons get elected, so I worry less about them allowed to run. Can you think of any felon who got elected to congress or statewide office?

Michael Grimm has no chance to win!

[tammywammy]

9. Felon voting rights New York

In New York, the general rule is that you can vote after incarceration for a felony conviction while you are on probation, or once you have completed parole. In these cases, your voting rights are automatically restored, but you have to re-register in order to vote. You do not need any special documentation to register.

However, on April 18, 2018, Governor Andrew M. Cuomo signed an executive order restoring the right to vote immediately following release for most New Yorkers who are on parole after incarceration for a felony. Going forward, this means that the Governor’s office will review the information of each person released to community supervision in New York and will issue a partial executive pardon that restores each approved person’s ability to register and vote.

https://www.nyclu.org/en/issues/voting-rights/felon-voting-rights

[Xipe Totec]

11. Awesome example for other states. nt

[tammywammy]

15. In Texas felons get their voting rights back once they complete parole or probation.

That's common in many states.

[malaise]

17. I've been asking that question for years

on DU

[left-of-center2012]

18. Your "headline" is wrong in reference to N.Y.

Your post is in reference to New York where felons can vote.
https://www.nyclu.org/en/issues/voting-rights/felon-voting-rights

Also nowhere in the linked article does it say Michael Grimm can't vote.

[EffieBlack]

20. It's state by state

If a convicted felon can’t vote, they usually can’t run for office. If you see a convicted felon running, they likely in a state that allows felons to get their voting rights back.