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Pulling back the curtains on wage-theft enforcement in MN; Trump's latest attack is on RFK, Jr; NM LGBTQ+ equality group endorses 2024 'Rock Star' candidates; Michigan's youth justice reforms: Expanded diversion, no fees.

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Transportation Secretary Pete Buttigieg says rebuilding Baltimore's Key Bridge will be challenging and expensive. An Alabama Democrat flips a state legislature seat and former Connecticut senator Joe Lieberman dies at 82.

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Historic wildfires could create housing and health issues for rural Texans, a Kentucky program helps prison parolees start a new life, and descendants of Nicodemus, Kansas celebrate the Black settlers who journeyed across the 1870s plains seeking self-governance.

Voting Rights Debate: Pro and (ex) Con

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Monday, February 26, 2007   


'What about the victims?' That's what lawmakers are asking in Olympia as they debate the idea of simplifying state election laws to allow people to vote when they get out of prison. Current law requires them to first complete all the terms of their release, including paying fines and making restitution to victims, but proponents say crime victims are more likely to be paid if the law is changed. Lea Zengage, with the group Justice Works, points to Oregon's law as an example.

"We have our neighboring state that has proven that victims get their money back, more likely, if they're engaged in society and engaged in becoming a productive citizen."

In legislative committee hearings for House Bill 1473 and Senate Bill 5530, the debate so far has revolved around what would serve victims better: punishing felons, or making it easier for them to rebuild their lives? Zengage adds the current law doesn't prevent crime, it just prevents people from voting. She believes keeping people out of trouble means allowing them to be good citizens.

"When people who've been in prison get their right to vote back, not only do they have about a 50-percent less chance of re-committing a new crime, but it's more likely that the crime victims' compensation and restitution will get paid."

Opponents say felons don't deserve voting rights, but some county election offices, the League of Women Voters, church and civil rights groups disagree, and a Senate Committee has recommended passage. More than 160,000 people in Washington can't vote because of past criminal convictions - almost 4 percent of the voting population.



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