Written by Nicholas Vetrisek
One of the statewide propositions on the November ballot this year is CA ACA6 (19R), which, if passed, would allow felons on probation to vote.
California currently allows felons to vote once their probation has ended, but California Democrats and civil rights groups want to go even further. They claim that by passing this proposition, felons would now rightfully be able to vote after serving their debt to society. The problem with this is the fact that, by definition, they haven’t.
If felons had completely repaid their debt to society, they wouldn’t be on probation and could simply vote with no strings attached. Of course, there are arguments against this that reasonable people can differ on, but the status quo in California already offers felons the eligibility to vote once their probation has ended. Democrats are simply trying to expand this and let felons vote early in a misguided attempt to solidify their majority in the state.
State Senator Andreas Borgeas (D-Fresno) summarized the issue by saying that “paying your debt necessarily includes fulfilling the period of time during probation and parole.” Felons will get their voting rights back, it’s only a matter of time.
This destroys the Democratic narrative that it disenfranchises people, so there can only be one reason for this initiative: it will likely benefit Democrats electorally. The proposition is designed to give Democrats a quick boost of as many as 40,000 voters in order to help their election prospects.
