TOUGH-ON-VOTING STANCE DENIES FELONS A CHANCE

It's one thing to be tough on crime, like Virginia is. But why be punitive
toward ex-convicts after they have been released from prison?

Virginia is one of 13 states that make it difficult for released felons to
regain their voting rights. The denial of voting rights is just one more
stab at offenders who supposedly have paid their debt to society.

Voting should not be so difficult.

As it stands now, the obstacle course that's been set up -- including
submitting an application, getting references from "reputable citizens" and
petitioning the governor -- frustrates people who want to vote.

Marc Mauer is assistant director of The Sentencing Project, a nonprofit
group based in Washington that researches criminal justice policy issues.
His comments are instructive:

"More than 95 percent of felons sentenced to state prisons are coming home
someday. If we treat them as second-class citizens, tell them they're not
part of the community, that's not conducive to re-integration into the
community. If they feel a sense of community, they're less likely to
victimize their neighbors."

An estimated 270,000 Virginians can't vote because of felony convictions.
Religious groups and others have asked state lawmakers to change the
punitive tone. State Sen. Kenneth W. Stolle, R-Virginia Beach and chair of
the Virginia State Crime Commission, has appointed a task force to study
how the process could be changed. But Stolle opposes any system that would
automatically restore voting rights.

Why?

If they've finished their confinement and any period under supervision of
probation officers, let them vote. They're citizens, too.