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August 28, 2008
PA: Felon voting signs removed from Obama office
08/22/2008
Felon voting signs removed from Obama office
By Michael Hays
Pottstown, PA
POTTSTOWN — A simple sign in the window of the local Barack Obama campaign headquarters has reignited a conversation about convicted felons' right to vote in this country.
The poster board welcomed all passersby to register to vote and included the statement: "Felons can vote." The sign, which was visible at the office opening a week ago, has since been removed.
A lifesize cardboard printout of the presumptive Democratic nominee for president has replaced the sign. A spokesman from the Philadelphia campaign office said this decision was made at the local level.
"They just realized maybe it was sending the wrong message and took it down themselves," Sean Smith said.
In this case, the individual probably wanted to educate people on who is eligible to vote, he added, explaining why the sign was posted in the front window of the High and Penn streets office.
Smith said individual field coordinators do have a significant amount of autonomy. They are encouraged to use good judgment and integrate themselves into the communities they work in.
"They are to act in accordance with norms and be our ambassadors to those communities," he said.
The Pottstown office coordinator — like many in similar positions — is not authorized to speak to the media at this time.
Michael Slater, spokesman for Project Vote, did not see anything wrong with placing such a sign in the campaign's window.
"That should be applauded, not repudiated or criticized," Slater said.
He said denying people the right to vote after they have served their sentence is "punitive not rehabilitative."
An unscientific poll conducted by The Mercury asked Web site visitors: "What do you think of the 'Felons can vote' signs in the Obama campaign office window?"
With nearly 200 votes tabulated, 48.7 percent responded, "They are informative, nothing else."
Twenty-two percent selected, "Why is he courting felons?"
Twelve percent responded, "Who cares?"
Nine percent didn't know felons had the right to vote, while 7.6 responded to, "I find it offensive. Pottstown isn't composed of felons."
Nationwide, a patchwork of laws concerning felons' right to vote differ from state-to-state.
A Pennsylvania court ruled in 2000 that the state law prohibiting convicted felons from registering to vote for five years after their release from prison is unconstitutional, according to the Montgomery County Web site.
Today, convicted felons who have been released from prison have the right to cast a ballot in Pennsylvania. Applicants completing an older version of the voter registration form are instructed to cross out the felony conviction line.
Project Vote is an organization based in Washington, D.C. that advocates for full participation in the election process. They say the United States is the only country that allows states to choose permanent disenfranchisement of felons, even after completion of their sentences.
http://www.pottstownmercury.com/site/printerFriendly.cfm?brd=1674&dept_id=18041&newsid=20086662
Posted by lois at August 28, 2008 04:36 PM