call a spade a spade

 On the way to underwater hockey tonight I was listening to a news program on NPR where they discussed the state declaring that the responsibility for determining whether or not former felons could vote rests on the shoulders of those citizens rather than the state.  Which is absolute bullshit.  The folks discussing this turn of events expressed how this seems nonsensical but in such bewildered and anodyne manner that you'd think it was impossible to understand how such a thing could happen.  Which is also bullshit.  They know why this happened this way and are cowards for not stating it plainly: the point of the requirement for people to pay all fines before they can vote is meant to be a poll tax to suppress votes, and the lack of a system for people to find out what if any fees they may owe is meant to make it harder for people to regain their rights, and charges against people who had voted after being told their rights had been restored by the state was meant to scare people and suppress the vote.  I keep waiting for anyone to actually discuss this plainly and am disappointed every time.