A False Democracy : The Presidential Election

However, that leaves a whole 33percent of ex felons that do not commit another crime and want to be productive members of society an ‘’earn’’ there voting rights back. Granted, being that statistics show a greater number of reoffending felons this is good cause to why society and the communities these ex felons reside are against felons voting. On the contrary State data shows that most prison admissions are for probation or parole violations. Maybe that's because punishment is so light: 79 percent of state inmates are released before reaching their maximum sentences. In other words, maybe they aren't afraid of being reincarcerated because they know they'll never serve their full terms and continue to commit certain crimes as a cry for help.

Individuals convicted of a felony should not lose their right to vote. The right to vote is a

“We let ex-convicts marry, reproduce, buy beer, own property and drive. They don’t lose their freedom of religion, their right against self-incrimination… they can’t be trusted to help choose our leaders… If we thought criminals could never be reformed, we wouldn’t let them out of prison in the first place (Chapman, Steve).” Many believe that felons should be able to vote due to the fact that they served their time in prison and already received their consequence. When felons already served their time, they are told they have their “freedom”. Yet, they do not have the same rights they did before they were arrested. Felons have paid enough of a price by serving their assigned sentence which shouldn’t lead

Felons need voting rights too! Felons and voting rights are starting to become a big deal. Felons are wanting the right to vote, but some states will not give them that right. All states should let felons vote depending on how severe their crime was. It is not right to deny someone the right to vote. There are multiple reasons for why they shouldn't vote, but there are also some good reasons or why they should be able to vote. Felons deserve the right to vote for multiple reasons.

There are many ex-felon’s in past years that could not vote as stated “ Because of America’s unique rules, some 3.5-4 million citizens as of 2000 and 2004 respectively are out of prison, but not allowed to vote” (Enten 6). Millions of ex-felon citizens have been denied their right to vote, which is wrong. The good and the bad makes up the society and the world. People who committed these felonies and have paid their dues back to the society, may not be the same person they were when committed the crime. If the individual has completed their sentence, along with probation and parole, which then means they are safe to return to society and resume back to their civilized life, their right to vote should come back with it.

Although some states believe that voting is a privilege that can be taken away after intolerable behavior, ex-criminals should be given voting rights because they are heavily impacted by government decisions, the vote is consequently taken away from low income, minority factions, and the US has a historical record of disenfranchising people regarding their race, color, previous servitude, and sex, so we have reason to question the disenfranchisement of other minorities.

Felon disenfranchisement can affect society as a whole by further marginalizing and alienating formerly incarcerated individuals, thus forming a community of ex-felons excluded from civil society. Losing one's voting rights extends feelings of not being wanted and a feeling of powerlessness. Those who are stripped of their basic voting rights will receive the message that what they have to say, mainly about who they want to represent them, does not matter. If a group of people don't believe they are seen as a part of society, they are less likely to engage and contribute to their community. By categorizing all ex-offenders together and decreeing disenfranchisement, communities will divide in a manner of whose voice matters and whose does not. Compared to other world leading countries, the united states has arguably the most politically divided communities but the problem lies on whether people can express their opinions or not, in this case through voting. Alexander writes “No other country in the world disenfranchises people who are released from prison in a manner even remotely resembling the United States” (158). This mass disenfranchisement creates a country where its citizens have no say in who represents them and their

By taking away their right to vote they are showing the offender and society that criminal behavior results in loss of freedom. JD Roger Clegg, President and General Counsel of the Center for Equal Opportunity, argues that, “We don’t let children vote, for instance, or noncitizens, or the mentally incompetent. Why? Because we don’t trust them and their judgement…People who commit serious crimes have shown that they are not trustworthy” so why should they vote unless they’ve proven that they’ve turned over a new leaf. Others fear that felons will in some way vote so that previously illegal activity will now be

Taking away felon’s right to vote is unjust as it’s an unnecessary consequence which leaves prisoners in an unreasonable state of mind. When a person is punished for a certain crime the law states the consequences, for him to be additionally denied basic necessities, face physical punishment or further penalties is unjust. They are facing a punishment disproportional to their crime and a penalization not incorporated into the law. If people believed that by further punishment through poor living environment or unemployment was part of the penalty the felon deserves they should incorporate the additional penalizations into the law. No one has the right to give them additional consequences, no matter the severity of the crime, as that makes them

The problem with felons being able to vote is that ex-prisoners have already demonstrated dishonesty and irresponsibility in their character by committing a crime (according to an article written by Roger Clegg in the Center for Equal Opportunity), especially a serious crime and have forfeited their right to vote. If we let felons vote they already have made series of bad choices in their life so why should we just let them vote? The crimes committed by ex-felons don't just involve injustice to one party but

Voter restoration and the disenfranchisement of past convicts have gained attention in American political cycle. The reason why this issue has gained attention mainly deals with the public becoming more active in advocating for civil right in America after ignoring the problems that face so many communities for so long. According to a publication sponsored by the American Bar association they present the argument that there are more than 9 million people who are disenfranchised in American politics and present that around 4.7 million citizens have been disenfranchised because of a criminal conviction (Raskin 2005). Those people who have been affected because of past criminal convictions face having their right revoked for life however,

Disenfranchised citizens should be allowed to vote because it is the first step for the reintegration process to becoming a law abiding citizen again. Disenfranchising a citizen means to deprive them of their right to vote or deprive them of a right or privilege. Disenfranchisement has caused confusion among certain races and the United States government because certain nationalities suspected that they were being systematically targeted. Felony disenfranchisement literally defies the eighth amendment. Disenfranchised citizens may feel that they are permanently penalized for a crime they committed even though they served their sentence, parole, or probation.

People are incarcerated for different crimes some a lot more severe than others. For example, a single parent was sentenced to 3 months for the theft of a pair of jeans worth £10 (BBC News, 2011). However, while these are viable points and questions, the government allowing certain individuals in prisons to vote could be a complicated decision. Felons’ circumstances are not simply black and white; there can be a grey area with individual cases. Appropriate retribution is said to only occur when an appropriate punishment is given for the crime (Hegel, 1965). This makes it difficult to judge who has committed a serious enough offence to enable them to be stripped of their right to vote. Streeter said, the UK decided hundreds of years ago that prisoners should not have the right to vote’ (Streeter, 2011). This is a settled view in this country which has been accepted since 1870 (Hollobone, 2011). ‘Do we want convicted murderers, rapists and paedophiles to be given the vote?’ (BBC News, 2010). In terms of making the right decision and having it morally and politically justifiable, felons should not be allowed to vote and it is nonsensical to think they should.

It’s said to be believed that ex-felons never seem to have a change in their life after being released from prison, but the reality is that many ex-felons have a drastic change in their lives after being released from prison. One major concern though that many ex-felons have is that even if they change for the better many are still not having many of their rights restituted and one being their voting rights. According to a website called “Newsmax” more than 2 million African Americans, or close to 8 percent of black adults, aren't able to vote because of felony convictions compared to just under 2 percent of non-African Americans. (Voting Rights: 6 Reasons Ex-Felons Should Vote, 2015) Having more than 2 million African Americans not vote then causes there to be a major gap of ethnicities being represented on Election Day and to have many laws that will have a big impact on them to be voted into place. That’s why many ex-felons should have their voting rights restituted because it wouldn’t only be African Americans not represented but many poor citizens would also not be represented on Election Day. This is why I’m proposing a solution that would allow more ex-felons to gain their voting rights much faster and with less hassle.

Some sources believe felons should not be given the right to vote after having committed a felony, because voting is a privilege. Once people commit a felony, they lose this privilege. They also believe that since felons have committed a crime, they do not have the ability to make judgements in elections. If they made the judgement to commit a crime, they do not have the right mindset to make a judgement in an election.