It's possible that the known felon on the ballot might be the lesser of evils and that voters don't need a constitutional amendment to make their decision. He's a great legislator, but people don't like to be told what to do. Ford was referring to Neal's primary race against Lost Trust felon Jim Faber. Ford's view is that voters in District 70 will choose a felon if they are told they won't be able to do so in the future. Despite Ford's unfortunate remarks, we agree with his opposition to the bill.
Voters already get to decide if they want to elect former felons.
This proposal is simply more posturing by legislators concerned that the voters can't tell who the real crooks are. While it appears that legislators are not going to let motorists increase their speed on the state's highways, the DHEC Board has decided to let the Laidlaw toxic waste incinerator increase the amount of mercury it can dump in the North Tyger River. The company faces a multimillion-dollar lawsuit for dumping illegal amounts of mercury in the river, but the Board's decision may help get it off the hook. Mercury is a long-lasting heavy metal that causes serious health problems. While the Board left in place monthly mercury limits, they increased by a factor of eight the daily amount of mercury the company can discharge.