CHARLESTON, W.Va. — West Virginia Secretary of State Mac Warner is throwing cold water on one presidential candidate’s proposal to allow felons to vote.
U.S. Sen. Bernie Sanders, I-Vt., who is running for the Democratic Party’s nomination, announced earlier this month his support for extending voting rights to people currently serving in prison. Vermont and Maine are the only states that allow these individuals to vote while they are serving their sentence.
Warner, during a recent appearance on MetroNews “Talkline,” said allowing such practice would impose on current state laws.
“We certainly don’t want this sort of thing imposed on the good citizens of West Virginia,” he said. “We tend to look at things from a common-sense sort of perspective, and this just doesn’t pass the smell test for common-sense.”
Warner said someone should be punished for breaking the law, which includes the person being sentenced to jail, paying a fine and losing rights such as the ability to vote.
“You want to put out a deterrence warning. If you do this, this sort of thing is going to happen to you,” he said.
“Felonies are serious offenses, usually involving some sort of violent act, aggressive act,” Warner added.
Warner also pointed to the 10th Amendment of the United States Constitution, which gives states powers not set aside for the federal government.
People who serve felonies can re-register to vote in West Virginia after their sentence is complete.
“We want our criminal system to rehabilitate people,” Warner said. “That’s part of the rehabilitation process.”