Advertisement Bernie Sanders says 'terrible people' like marathon bomber should have right to vote Share Shares Copy Link Copy

Democratic presidential hopeful Bernie Sanders was asked at a New Hampshire town hall Monday night if he thought felons should be allowed to vote, even while they're incarcerated, not just after they're released.The 77-year-old Vermont senator said at the CNN sponsored town hall he think's everyone should have the right to vote, even convicted Boston Marathon Bomber Dzhokhar Tsarnaev. "What our campaign is about and what I believe is creating a vibrant democracy," Sanders said. "This is a democracy and we have got to expand that democracy, and I believe every single person does have the right to vote," he said.Sanders cited the low turnout rates for American voters in relation to other countries, before continuing. "I somebody commits a serious crime, sexual assault, murder, they're going to be punished. They may be in jail for 10 years, 20 years, 50 years, their whole life. That's what happens when you commit a serious crime but I think the right to vote is inherent to our democracy," Sanders said. The Vermont Democrat continued, trying to explain his reasoning. "Yes, even for terrible people, because once you start chipping away and you say, 'Well, that guy committed a terrible crime, not going to let him vote. Well, that person did that. Not going to let that person vote,' you're running down a slippery slope," Sanders said.Sanders said, enfranchising people like Tsarnaev, the man convicted and sentenced to death in the 2013 Boston Marathon bombings, is a part of that.He added: "So I believe people commit crimes and they paid the price and they have the right to vote. I believe even if they're in jail they're paying their price to society but that should not take away their inherent American right to participate in our democracy."Former Massachusetts Bay Transportation Authority Officer Dic Donohue responded to Sanders' comments on Twitter Tuesday, saying "All I have to say today is that it would be nice to talk to @BernieSanders in person since he'll be in my home state. We can talk about his comments from last night and more. I don't live too far from Cambridge."Sanders addressed a crowd in Cambridge Tuesday afternoon. It was not immediately clear if Donohue had a chance to meet with the Democratic senator at the event. He did not address the issue at Tuesday's Cambridge event. South Bend, Indiana, Mayor Pete Buttigieg, also a Democratic candidate for president, disagreed with Sanders position, saying losing the right to vote is part of the punishment when someone is convicted of a crime. "You lose your freedom and I think during that freedom it does not make sense to have an exception for it the right to vote," Buttigieg said."I do believe that when you are, when you have served your sentence, then part of being restored to society is that you are part of the political life of this nation again and one of the things that needs to be restored is your right to vote," he added.