At a time when the city, county and state are making public safety cuts to balance their budgets, HR 1517, the Voting Restoration Act, passed in the most recent legislative session, permits convicted felons to restore their right to vote without repayment of legal financial obligations (LFOs).
Now, convicted felons can have their voting rights restored as long as they are no longer under the authority of the state Department of Corrections, which occurs after the completion of jail or probation. LFOs include restitution to the victims of a crime, court appointed attorneys fees, and any other court-ordered payment.
Reps. Mary Lou Dickerson and Reuven Carlyle sponsored the bill, among others. Likewise Secretary of State Sam Reed supported the bill reasoning it would make it easier for the state to figure out who is eligible to vote. While a clear rule is a positive thing, there are other aspects to consider.
The obvious: we are in the middle of a recession and collecting revenue should be a priority. The $93 million hole in the budget caused the county to make cuts across the board, including the King County Sheriff's Department, the county prosecutor's office, public defense and the courts. In November 2008, King County Prosecutor Dan Satterberg announced he had eliminated 47 positions, including 20 prosecuting attorneys.
While the Washington State Administrative Office of the Courts does not publish the amount of legal debt that goes unpaid each year, a 2008 study conducted by the Washington State Minority and Justice Commission titled "The Assessment of Legal Financial Obligations in Washington State," includes some numbers. The study looked at the proportion of LFOs paid as of June 2007 for convictions occurring in 2004. To sum it up, many of those with felony convictions made no LFO payments in the two- to three-year period following completion of their confinement sentence. Regardless, these individuals will now be able to vote.
There is no question that it is important to restore peoples' right to vote. Vanessa Martin, a former public defender in King County summed it up well, "if they can't vote, then they continue to be someone that nobody cares about. The whole point of the system is that everybody participates." Yet, Ms. Martin added that in her time as a public defender only one client actually expressed concern over her right to vote. While in favor of the law, she called it "a hollow incentive."
Perhaps the Legislature should have explored alternatives to permitting convicted felons to vote without paying a single dollar back into the system or to the victims they injured. For example, the state could waive interest on LFOs, which is currently 12 percent. That could certainly make repayment an obtainable goal and would lessen the expense associated with collecting unpaid debt. Or, the state could mandate that all courts allow LFOs to be converted into community service or work crew.
LFOs are an important part of a criminal sentence. As an attorney who has represented people accused of crimes, I know that for some the pocket book is the motivating factor in staying out of trouble. This law tells people that they do not have to be financially accountable for their actions and can still vote. That is a shame.[[In-content Ad]]
