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Because, why not? Crime is rampant and escalating, no one is being incarcerated these days, and California Governor Gavin Newsom constantly finds ways to eliminate the death penalty and release hardened felons into the general populace. So, why not restore some rights while prisoners are still incarcerated and allow them the practice of exercising those rights before they get sent back into society?

Assemblyman Tom Lackey (R-CA36) appeared on Newsmax Tuesday to discuss this latest move by the California Legislature to enact another piece of criminal justice reform. Because the other pieces have fit so well and done so much for the state <*sarcasm alert*>.

“Voting from a cell block is a step too far,” he said.

From the Associated Press:

California voters could decide whether to reinstate voting rights to people in prison on felony convictions under a newly proposed constitutional amendment.

It would be a major expansion of suffrage for incarcerated people if passed. California would join Maine and Vermont, as well as the District of Columbia, as the only states where felons never lose their right to vote, even while they are in prison, according to the National Conference of State Legislatures.

The California bill, introduced Monday by Assembly Member Isaac Bryan, proposes an amendment to the state constitution. Bryan’s proposal doesn’t include any exemptions based on the crime committed. After decades of disenfranchisement, he said it’s time to open up voting for everyone.

“I think we’re having a deep discussion on what it means to have voting as a right for every citizen,” Bryan said Wednesday.

Assemblyman Isaac Bryan represents District 55 in South Los Angeles, and has aspirations for a bigger piece of the California political pie. It is rumored that he is slated to take over former Los Angeles City Councilman and corruptocrat Mark Ridley-Thomas‘ seat in 2024. So, to be the alchemist who cooks up this type of constitutional cocktail makes for excellent street cred to the constituents whom he desires to reach. Bryan outlined his reasoned treatise on why this needs to happen via a Twitter thread:

The ties between voter disenfranchisement and the criminal legal system have a direct relationship to our legacy of slavery, Jim Crow, and Black Code laws.

Some states, and Washington DC, currently allow people incarcerated to vote.

— Isaac G. Bryan (@ib2_real) February 7, 2023

And to WTLocal:

Of the more than 95,000 people in California’s state prison system, 80% are people of color or people from poor and disadvantaged communities, says Antoinette Ratcliffe, executive director of the California nonprofit Initiate Justice.

For that reason, Bryan, who represents part of Los Angeles, says ending California’s practice is a matter of racial justice. “We know that our criminal justice system is riddled with bias, and we know that it disproportionately exacerbates the adverse conditions of life for black, brown, poor, indigenous communities.”

So just like the $500,000 in reparations to Black residents being floated, this is another way to create equity where inequity has existed.

But what about law-abiding citizens and their rights? With the voting system that exists in California currently, many of us already feel our vote has been disenfranchised. Not to mention the victims who were disenfranchised by these hardened felons and their actions, which robbed them of loved ones, property, and peace of mind.

California already reinstates the voting rights of felons when they are paroled, so this push to never rescind those rights is curious.

Two-thirds of each chamber of the state legislature must vote yes for the bill just for it to appear on the ballot as a proposition. Voters must then approve it by a simple majority for it to become a constitutional amendment.

California is currently among 21 states where felons only lose their right to vote while they are incarcerated, the conference says. The right is automatically reinstated upon release.

Asm. Lackey couched voting as a privilege (which it is) rather than a right. If incarceration strips someone of their privileges, then voting should remain one of them.

“When you’re in prison for a felony, you’ve excluded yourself. You’ve shown no respect for our lives and no respect for life.”

[…]

“Those victims need to be part of the equation in restoring this very sacred privilege. You’ve excluded yourself when you’ve committed acts of violence toward another.”

But with a Democrat Supermajority still ruling in Sacramento and Asm. Isaac Bryan’s connections and juice, getting this on the 2024 ballot could already be a fait accompli. The outmigration of sane residents is also a factor, as the loudest voices and the most invested parties will automatically win the day.

Asm. Tom Lackey’s Newsmax appearance was with Timothy Alan Simon, a “San Francisco resident” and advisor on many boards and energy commissions. This speaks volumes, as Simon has a long history of greasing the wheels of policy that favor his wallet. If you follow the money, you’ll probably get the answer as to why this issue has taken on such urgent concern.

I was on NEWSMAX National Report this morning to discuss misguided efforts in the California State Assembly to allow prisoners to cast ballots from their cell block.

I am firmly opposed to this because it dismisses the rights of victims.
pic.twitter.com/0zJ3l3UI15

— Assemblyman Lackey 👮‍♂️ (@TomLackey36) February 22, 2023