We have more respect for the Ninth U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals than some judges and lawyers do, but the court laid a buzzard's egg with this one.
The court has decided in a 2-1 vote that 18,000 convicts currently behind bars in Washington state have the right to vote in elections.
This strikes us as the result of a nuisance suit filed by some convicts just to keep the system hopping and their own lives more interesting.
It's a tactic that works. It works especially well with the Ninth Circuit Court of Appeals.
The dissenting judge was perhaps surprised.
In her dissent, 9th Circuit Judge Margaret McKeown wrote that the majority "has charted territory that none of our sister circuits has dared to explore."
The right to vote is one of the basic values of citizenship that historically has been denied convicted felons while they are in prison.
Only two states, Maine and Vermont, allow felons to cast votes while behind bars, according to The Associated Press.
Until this ruling is appealed, all the states and jurisdictions in the Ninth Circuit are under threat of having their felons voting.
To read the complete editorial, visit The Tri-City Herald.
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