The edifice of Law could perhaps be described as a sort of Winchester House, obsessively extended and larded with unexpected features: stairs that lead nowhere and 47 fireplaces. Every so often, some reformer decides it’s time to root out some particular bit of cruft. The New Jersey state constitution, for example, holds this gem in Article II, Section I, paragraph 6:
No idiot or insane person shall enjoy the right of suffrage.
Leaving aside whether this rule is actually enforced, it is has been suggested that this provision is deeply insensitive to idiots and the insane. Thus, New Jersey Senate Concurrent Resolution 134 has been adopted, proposing a constitutional amendment removing the language.
Somehow, I can’t shake the feeling that there’s an ulterior motive, here. Perhaps certain senators wish to pack the polls with the feeble-minded and the mad to shift the balance of power that brought about certain recent legislation.
(via reddit)