Former Republican state legislator Austin Smith pleaded guilty Monday to what he previously called “ludicrous” charges that he personally forged more than 100 signatures on his petitions for reelection last year.

    • BarneyPiccolo@lemmy.today
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      3 hours ago

      No American citizen should ever lose their right to vote, for ANY reason, not even incarcerated prisoners. Hell, prisoners probably need governmental representation more than anyone.

      These are supposed to be God-given, inalienable rights, according to the Declaration of Independence, so how does a human-conceived entity presume to veto God?

    • mos@lemmy.world
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      5 hours ago

      I’m not sure I have a strong opinion for disenfranchising voters, since I believe everyone deserves a right to vote, but there has to be a point at which someone forfeits their own ability to vote? I think cheating the system (and by proxy, other voters) might be a good case for that.

      • Omgpwnies@lemmy.world
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        39 minutes ago

        Maybe not fully prevent them from voting, but curtail the means by which they can cast a vote to some minimum. For example, require them to cast an in-person ballot at a pre-defined time and location, under court-appointed supervision.

        This would be in addition to being prohibited from running, campaigning, volunteering, or doing anything else in the election process besides cast their single vote.

      • Whostosay@sh.itjust.works
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        4 hours ago

        Especially with the intent to cause the amount of destruction that has already been carried out that was known when the crime occurred

      • 🔍🦘🛎@lemmy.world
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        5 hours ago

        Yeah, campaign fraud is a slice of narrow instances someone should lose their right to participate in democracy.