ICYMI: Free Beacon: NC Dem Senate Hopeful Backs Bill Enfranchising Violent Felons

February 18, 2021
For Immediate Release 

Raleigh, NC - The Washington Free Beacon reported on how Cal Jr. (Jeff Jackson) first legislative priority is expanding voting to violent felons. 

“Cal Jr. (Jeff Jackson) confirms that he will push the far left’s radical policies like enfranchising violent felons who have not paid their full debt to society,” said NCGOP Communications Director Tim Wigginton. 

Here are some of the key excerpts from the Free Beacon Report: 

“Jackson expressed support for H.R. 1 in a Medium post, calling the legislation one of his ‘top priorities’ should he serve in the upper chamber. Often presented as a campaign finance reform measure, the 700-page bill also guarantees voting rights for all felons who are not currently incarcerated, including those released on parole or probation and those convicted of murder and sexual offenses.”

“If enacted, the bill would place the federal government in conflict with a majority of U.S. states, likely sparking legal challenges. Thirty states currently bar felons from voting until they are discharged from parole, and 11 states disenfranchise felons convicted of certain crimes, such as murder, rape, and election-related offenses. Public Interest Legal Foundation spokesman Logan Churchwell called H.R. 1 ‘a brave new experiment in pushing the Elections Clause of the Constitution to the limit and beyond.’”

“‘It doesn't matter what Texas or Florida have to say about felon re-enfranchisement—Capitol Hill leadership wants to throw their trump card on the table. Federalism be damned,’ Churchwell told the Washington Free Beacon. Felons in both states cannot vote on probation or parole, and Florida voters passed a constitutional amendment in 2018 that enfranchised 1.4 million felons but excluded those convicted of murder or sexual offenses. House Democrats first passed H.R. 1 in 2019 before then-Senate majority leader Mitch McConnell (R., Ky.) blocked it from consideration, calling the proposal a ‘one-sided power grab.’”

###