Kamala Harris clarifies response on whether prisoners should be allowed to vote

FILE -- Democratic Presidential candidate Sen. Kamala Harris, D-Calif. Harris clarified her position on whether she felt prisoners should be allowed to vote, after telling a town hall that she would be willing to have a conversation about it. less FILE -- Democratic Presidential candidate Sen. Kamala Harris, D-Calif. Harris clarified her position on whether she felt prisoners should be allowed to vote, after telling a town hall that she would be willing ... more Photo: Scott Eisen, Stringer / Getty Images Photo: Scott Eisen, Stringer / Getty Images Image 1 of / 20 Caption Close Kamala Harris clarifies response on whether prisoners should be allowed to vote 1 / 20 Back to Gallery

Sen. Kamala Harris clarified her position on whether convicted felons should be given the right to vote, after a CNN town hall Monday night asked 2020 Democratic candidates about where they stood on the heavily-debated topic.

While Harris, D-Calif., supported giving voting rights back to those who completed their sentences and have since been released from prison, she appeared tentative about whether those currently incarcerated should also be granted voting rights, including violent criminals such as the Boston Marathon bomber.

"I think we should have that conversation," Harris said.

Sen. Bernie Sanders, however, made headlines when he revealed that he was not only in support of restoring voting rights to former prisoners, but that he felt even those currently serving time for violent crimes should be allowed to vote.

Sanders, I-Vt., told town hall participants that felons are already being punished for their serious crimes, but that, "This is a democracy, we have to expand that democracy."

READ ALSO: Sanders faces heat for saying people should be able to vote from prison

"I think the right to vote is inherent to our democracy — yes, even for terrible people — because once you start chipping away ... you're running down a slippery slope," Sanders said during the town hall. "I believe even if they are in jail, they're paying the price to society, that should not take away their inherent American right to participate in our democracy."

Harris expanded on her stance Tuesday during a Q&A in New Hampshire, calling the topic "complex" and stating that she takes the issue "very seriously."

"I'm running for President of the United States, I'm going to be very thoughtful and serious about the issues I weigh in on," Harris told reporters. "I'm going to think about it, and I'm going to talk to experts, and I'm gonna make a decision and I'll let you know. I will tell you this: One, it's a complex issue, I'm fully aware of that. Two, we right now have got a lot of work to do with the people in our country who have served their time and have been prohibited from voting.

"Currently in our country there are 6 million people who have served their time and are still prohibited from voting, and that has been an area of focus for me for quite some time and we have got to address that immediately. And so that is one of my first areas of focusing concern.

"But, do I think people who commit murder, or people who are terrorists, should be deprived of their rights?" Harris asked. "Yeah, I do. I'm a prosecutor, I believe in terms of, there has to be serious consequences for the most extreme types of crimes."

Sen. Elizabeth Warren's stance on the topic echoes that of Harris. In an Iowa town hall last month, Warren, D-Mass., also told attendees that she would be willing to have a conversation on the topic, Business Insider reported.

"Right now, I think the fight should be over felony re-enfranchisement," Warren said in March. "While they're still incarcerated, I think that's a different question, and I think that's something we can have more conversations about."

READ ALSO: Kamala Harris calls for Trump's impeachment after Mueller report

Only Mayor Pete Buttigieg seemed unwilling to allow those who are currently imprisoned to vote, saying in Monday's town hall that while he supports restoring voting to those who've served their time and are released, he does not believe the same rights should be extended to those still behind bars.

"Part of the punishment when you're convicted of a crime and incarcerated, is you lose certain rights, you lose your freedom," Buttigieg told attendees. "And I think during that time it does not make sense to make an exception for the right to vote."

Read Dianne de Guzman's latest stories and send her news tips at dianne.deguzman@sfgate.com.

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