Opinion ID: 2517881
Heading Depth: 1
Heading Rank: 7

Heading: Voting is a Fundamental Right

Text: ¶ 78 The right to vote is a fundamental right afforded to citizens. Harper v. Va. Bd. of Elections, 383 U.S. 663, 667, 86 S.Ct. 1079, 16 L.Ed.2d 169 (1966); Reynolds v. Sims, 377 U.S. 533, 561-62, 84 S.Ct. 1362, 12 L.Ed.2d 506 (1964). It is the manner in which `other basic civil and political rights' are preserved. Harper, 383 U.S. at 667, 86 S.Ct. 1079 (quoting Reynolds, 377 U.S. at 562, 84 S.Ct. 1362). ¶ 79 The majority rejects recognition of felons' right to vote as a fundamental right. It bases its determination on cases holding that a felon's right to vote may be taken away under the Fourteenth Amendment, section 2. This case is not, however, about felon disenfranchisement. Rather, it is a case about felon re-enfranchisement. ¶ 80 The United States Supreme Court has decided two cases in which convicts were deprived of their freedom for failure to pay their legal financial obligations. Bearden v. Georgia, 461 U.S. 660, 103 S.Ct. 2064, 76 L.Ed.2d 221 (1983); Williams v. Illinois, 399 U.S. 235, 90 S.Ct. 2018, 26 L.Ed.2d 586 (1970). Although freedom is a fundamental right, Foucha v. Louisiana, 504 U.S. 71, 86, 112 S.Ct. 1780, 118 L.Ed.2d 437 (1992) (plurality opinion), it is recognized that freedom can be taken away as punishment for a felony. Bearden, 461 U.S. at 669, 103 S.Ct. 2064. However, once all of the assigned punishment has been imposed, except for the payment of financial obligations, failure to pay those financial obligations cannot be used to continue depriving felons of their freedom. Bearden, 461 U.S. at 672-73, 103 S.Ct. 2064; Williams, 399 U.S. at 241-42, 90 S.Ct. 2018. Freedom, thus, remains a fundamental right. ¶ 81 Just as freedom is a fundamental right, so is the right to vote. These are rights that are possessed by citizens of a state. Just as in the other cases, felons can be deprived of the right to vote, notwithstanding its fundamental nature, as punishment for a felony. However, voting remains a fundamental right, and when all other conditions of a sentence have been fulfilled, felons cannot be deprived further of their right to vote for failure to pay LFOs.