Felons told they can’t vote

Spokane County officials are sending notices to 79 voters this week, telling them that they can’t vote anymore because they are felons.

If they want to cast a ballot again, they’ll have to show up at a hearing and prove that their rights have been restored.

Spokane County Prosecutor Steve Tucker said the names were gleaned from lists submitted by the state Republican and Democratic parties in the lawsuit over the rightful winner of the 2004 governor’s race. Republican Dino Rossi, who won the first tally and a machine recount, sued when Democrat Christine Gregoire came out on top of the hand recount by 129 votes.

In challenging Gregoire’s victory, state Republicans and some of their political allies produced lists of voters on the rolls in some counties – most noticeably in strongly Democratic King County – that seemed to match the names of convicted felons from court and law enforcement records. Democrats checked records too, and produced lists of their own, that were more heavily weighted toward GOP-leaning counties.

Together, the parties came up with a total of 91 Spokane County voters they thought were ineligible felons.

Under state law, each party could have filed a formal challenge with the county auditor against each voter it identified. Instead, Tucker had his staff check court records to determine whether the people on the lists had felony convictions and have not had their rights restored by a court or state agency after completing all the terms of their sentence.

After a check, county prosecutors concluded that 79 voters were felons ineligible to vote, Tucker said. Some have had their rights restored after completing their sentences, one has moved, and one died.

“I’m not really surprised by that number. I’m glad it’s not higher,” he said.

Voters who receive notices will have 10 days to decide whether they want to contest the canceling of their registration. The county auditor, who serves as the chief elections official, will schedule hearings later this month if any are requested, but Tucker doubted that many will contest the move.

A felon who votes without having his or her rights restored can be charged with another felony. But Tucker said he did not plan to file charges against any of the 79 people being notified because it might be difficult to prove they knew they weren’t supposed to vote.

“If they try it again, though, we would charge them,” he said.