Arrested For Voting

Posted by | November 15, 2014 22:00 | Filed under: Contributors News Behaving Badly Opinion Politics Stuart Shapiro

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Gripping story from an Iowa woman arrested in 2013.

Two months after I cast my ballot as a civics lesson for my daughter, the Iowa Department of Criminal Investigation agents parked across the street from my house, questioned me, and eventually arrested me and charged me with voter fraud.

Let me explain: When I was convicted on a nonviolent drug charge in 2008, my defense attorney told me that once I served my probation, I would regain my right to vote automatically – correct information at the time. But Gov. Terry Branstad suddenly changed the rules in 2011, and now all citizens with a felony conviction lose their voting rights for life. Our Secretary of State Matt Schultz, in fact, has made this subversion of democracy a point of pride. He has spent hundreds of thousands of dollars hunting down and prosecuting people with past convictions who unknowingly registered or cast a vote.

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Copyright 2014 Liberaland
By: Stuart Shapiro

Stuart is a professor and the Director of the Public Policy
program at the Bloustein School of Planning and Public Policy at Rutgers
University. He teaches economics and cost-benefit analysis and studies
regulation in the United States at both the federal and state levels.
Prior to coming to Rutgers, Stuart worked for five years at the Office
of Management and Budget in Washington under Presidents Clinton and
George W. Bush.

20 responses to Arrested For Voting

  1. mea_mark November 15th, 2014 at 22:07

    This is so wrong it is ridiculous.

  2. mea_mark November 15th, 2014 at 23:07

    This is so wrong it is ridiculous.

  3. allison1050 November 15th, 2014 at 22:14

    Nothing like control is there.

  4. allison1050 November 15th, 2014 at 23:14

    Nothing like control is there.

  5. searambler November 15th, 2014 at 22:22

    Republican politicians are assholes…..

    • fahvel November 16th, 2014 at 03:29

      shakespear couldn’t have saideth it better!!!

  6. searambler November 15th, 2014 at 23:22

    Republican politicians are assholes…..

    • fahvel November 16th, 2014 at 04:29

      shakespear couldn’t have saideth it better!!!

  7. mrsgunka November 15th, 2014 at 23:59

    If they catch all the Republican politicians in Iowa doing what so many of them do, there won’t be anyone left to run for office or even vote! :-) Wonder what they have on Joni Ernst?She is known for her castrating abilities. It might be illegal in DC! I can’t explain what happened to Iowa, but it wasn’t that way when I grew up there. So sad.

  8. mrsgunka November 16th, 2014 at 00:59

    If they catch all the Republican politicians in Iowa doing what so many of them do, there won’t be anyone left to run for office or even vote! :-) Wonder what they have on Joni Ernst?She is known for her castrating abilities. It might be illegal in DC! I can’t explain what happened to Iowa, but it wasn’t that way when I grew up there. So sad.

  9. Snick1946 November 16th, 2014 at 14:30

    I was born and grew up in Iowa. For a time in the 70’s and 80’s it was a truly competitive state with moderates in both parties. Now it is as if some darkness has failen over the state. A lot of it has to do with the infiltration of evangelicals into and taking over the GOP. Part of it is Iowa’s governor for life Terry Branstad who thinks he IS the office and seems to get more and more into one man rule all the time. I live in NE and used to think when I retired I’d move back there, no more. Most of the GOP office holders are bible banging doofuses.

  10. Snick1946 November 16th, 2014 at 15:30

    I was born and grew up in Iowa. For a time in the 70’s and 80’s it was a truly competitive state with moderates in both parties. Now it is as if some darkness has failen over the state. A lot of it has to do with the infiltration of evangelicals into and taking over the GOP. Part of it is Iowa’s governor for life Terry Branstad who thinks he IS the office and seems to get more and more into one man rule all the time. I live in NE and used to think when I retired I’d move back there, no more. Most of the GOP office holders are bible banging doofuses.

  11. StoneyCurtisll November 16th, 2014 at 17:21

    I dont know the law in Iowa, but I bet she can still legally buy a gun..
    But cannot vote.

  12. StoneyCurtisll November 16th, 2014 at 18:21

    I dont know the law in Iowa, but I bet she can still legally buy a gun..
    But cannot vote.

  13. R.J. Carter November 17th, 2014 at 16:28

    I believe the US Constitution has a protection against ex post facto laws.

  14. R.J. Carter November 17th, 2014 at 17:28

    I believe the US Constitution has a protection against ex post facto laws.

  15. Matt Dillon November 19th, 2014 at 07:50

    It is incumbent upon us as citizens to know the law.

  16. Matt Dillon November 19th, 2014 at 08:50

    It is incumbent upon us as citizens to know the law.

  17. Budda November 22nd, 2014 at 20:27

    Surprised they didn’t call out the swat team

  18. Budda November 22nd, 2014 at 21:27

    Surprised they didn’t call out the swat team

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