Washington State Battles Over Felon Voting Rights

The state of Washington is currently undergoing an appeal process to battle a King County judge’s ruling to extend voting rights to criminals who have served their time but have not yet completed court fine payments.  

According to Attorney General Rob McKenna and Secretary of State Sam Reed, representatives for the state believe that each state should have the discretion to “determine the process for restoring voting rights to felons.”

Judge Michael Spearman, who ruled in favor of three felons represented by the American Civil Liberties Union, feels otherwise however.  “It is well recognized that there is simply no rational relationship between the ability to pay and the exercise of constitutional rights,” he commented in his ruling.

Judge Spearman further added that to deny voting rights to convicted felons who have not completed court ordered payments is in direct violation of statutes in the United States Constitution and the state constitution, which afford criminals equal-protection.  

McKenna and Reed however, argued on behalf of the state, “We believe a rational basis does exist for the Legislature to deny felons the right to vote until they have completed their entire court-ordered sentences, including payment of criminal penalties, victim restitution, and legal fees, rather than separating out various sentencing aspects.”

The three ex-criminals represented by the ACLU, Daniel Madison, Beverly DuBois and Dannielle Garner, have all completed their appointed restitution requirements, but are unable to pay their court ordered fees in sum.  Each of the plaintiffs makes monthly payments of between $10 and $20 towards their allocated amount.  

According to ACLU statistics, there are over 250,000 ex-criminal felons who are still unable to vote in the state of Washington.  While they are unsure of the number of people who are unable to vote due to outstanding court fines, it is estimated to be as many as 46,000 individuals.  

Washington state Governor Chris Gregoire has expressed his disapproval of the appeal, issuing the statement that “once they [felons] have served their time, withholding certain rights due to fines becomes a virtual debtors’ prison.”