Michigan only bars certain felons from holding office, as does most states. I think there are a couple that ban all felons. Do you really think the various legislatures are going to ban felons?
I actually think that banning felons from office would be a bad thing. If you are duly elected to office after having been convicted of a felony before your announcement as a candidate, and said felony is on your records during the election, you should be allowed to take office, even if that means that you have to video-conference from your cell. Such is democracy.
Now, if your felonies are discovered after you've been elected, then that may be a valid reason to remove you. During a campaign is a little more murky.
Please note that I don't consider 'felon' as serious of a matter as I once did since I've learned about all the bullshit things that are considered felonies today. I remember reading an article a long time ago about a man who turned the wrong way in some construction and was giving what he thought was a traffic ticket - he did the standard 'plead guilty and pay $200 fine', only to find out later that he had 'pled guilty' to a
federal felony trespassing charge. I tried googling up the story, no luck.
Personally, I think that 'felon' status should be restricted, not to those that
could receive 1 year or more in prison, but those that actually
do. That and maybe something like a $10k fine(indexed to inflation). Convicted, sentenced to 2 years in prison, but are out in 6 months due to good behavior? Congratulations, you're not a felon!
