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Comment by local_crmdgeon | Hacker News Reader

Yeah, at some point in Chicago and Baltimore people figured out that career criminals vote, and will vote in their own interests. Very few people vote in local elections anyway, so they've managed to elect a ton of prosecutors who promise not to prosecute.

Feels like the 70s in Urban America repeating itself. I feel bad for the older Black population in Baltimore. They busted ass for the last 50 years and they got to enjoy a really lovely city from like 2009 to 2013. Imagine growing up like Henrietta Lacks, only to have all your shit stolen by teenagers who are legally untouchable.

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Most career criminals have a felony conviction under their belt and thus would not be able to vote, so this does not make a whole lot of sense

The interaction between felony convictions and being able to vote varies by state. You can find a map of the rules at https://www.aclu.org/issues/voting-rights/voter-restoration/....

In Baltimore, Maryland, you cannot vote while in prison. But you can once you get out. Felony conviction or no.

(I honestly don't think that the population with felony convictions are significant factors in elections, but they can and do vote.)

Ah my apologies, that change came in 2016 after I moved. Appreciate the correction

Please provide a citation for the insane claim that career criminals are a major voting block sufficient to consistently swing elections.

You don’t have to be a major voting block to be a consistently consequential swing vote. California is a major voting block but its interests are rarely persuasive in federal politics because it’s never a swing vote in elections.

Logical nitpick: you argued “A does not imply B”, by providing an example of (not A, B). You need (A, not B) to make that argument.

That’s fair. The logic still holds: Ohio’s interests are over-represented in Federal politics even though it’s not major because it’s important on the margins.

Why? There are plenty of middle class black neighborhoods in Baltimore and the long term outlook continues to look better after the nadir of 2015.

Citations needed.

Please don’t come on my turf and start trashing out city without facts.

I just looked down my street to Fort McHenry and our flag was still there :)

Legitimately insane take, thank you

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