Ocasio-Cortez backs giving prisoners voting rights

Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez (D-N.Y.) on Thursday voiced her support for giving incarcerated felons voting rights, while warning opponents they risked “looking completely + utterly out of touch w/ the reality [of] our prison system.”

“To avoid looking completely + utterly out of touch w/ the reality our prison system: Instead of asking, “Should the Boston Bomber have the right to vote?” Try, “Should a nonviolent person stopped w/ a dime bag LOSE the right to vote?” Bc that question reflects WAY more people,” Ocasio-Cortez tweeted.

To avoid looking completely + utterly out of touch w/ the reality our prison system:

Instead of asking, “Should the Boston Bomber have the right to vote?”

Try, “Should a nonviolent person stopped w/ a dime bag LOSE the right to vote?”

Bc that question reflects WAY more people.

— Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez (@AOC) April 25, 2019

Sen. Bernie Sanders (I-Vt.) sparked a national discussion about voting rights for felons in jail during a CNN town hall Monday.

{mosads}The 2020 presidential candidate said that all prisoners, including domestic terrorists such as the Boston Marathon bomber, should retain the right to vote.

“I think the right to vote is inherent to our democracy,” he said. “Yes, even for terrible people, because once you start chipping away … you’re running down a slippery slope. … I do believe that even if they are in jail, they’re paying their price to society, but that should not take away their inherent American right to participate in our democracy.” 

Although Sanders previously called for felon voting rights, the comments Monday drew national attention and backlash.

Some candidates, including former Rep. Beto O’Rourke (D-Texas) and former Housing and Urban Development Secretary Julián Castro, have said only nonviolent offenders should be able to vote while in prison.

Ocasio-Cortez did not immediately respond to a request for clarification on whether she was backing voting rights for all felons or just nonviolent ones.