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In Washington State, felons may be unable to run for office [1]

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Date: 2024-06-01  

Well, what are the chances I wonder? Washington State law has a provision that potentially prevents felons from running for public office writes Danny Westneat in today’s Seattle Times. There is a hoop or two. There is the Supreme Court of course and what they did to Colorado correctly asserting, in my opinion, that insurrection, once proven, should keep he-who-shall-not-be-named off the Colorado ballot.

It turns out Washington has a law on the books against convicted felons running for office. It was first established back when Washington was a territory, in 1865, that anyone convicted of “infamous crimes” could be blocked from holding elected office. That was modified in 1959, and then again more recently, to the scheme we have today.

A blank Republican presidential column on all ballots in Washington State would be a wonderful thing. There is a governor’s race to replace Jay Inslee who is stepping down after three terms and other statewide races including the entire Washington State House of Representatives and half the State Senate. Currently both have slim democratic majority’s. So not having a particular orangish, convicted felon atop of the Republican ticket might suppress engagement in Washington’s election among some groups of folks. As a reminder, Washington State is entirely vote by mail. It will take a citizen or three to raise a challenge, but that seems likely as challengers are queueing up.

Were this to come true it would seem a just comeuppance to the Washington State Republican Party which earlier this month came out against democracy, seriously.

“We encourage Republicans to substitute the words ‘republic’ and ‘republicanism’ where previously they have used the word ‘democracy,’ ” the resolution says. “Every time the word ‘democracy’ is used favorably it serves to promote the principles of the Democratic Party, the principles of which we ardently oppose.” The resolution sums up: “We … oppose legislation which makes our nation more democratic in nature.”

They wrote it down and voted in favor of it.

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