Losing the right to vote When felons are incarcerated they lose many privileges. From visiting to phone privileges, inmates lose the freedom to do whatever they please. Among those lost privileges is the right to vote. So far inmates are denied the right to vote in 46 states. In 14 states felons are denied the right to vote for the rest of their lives (Fagin, 2014, p. 237). Losing the right to vote is a form of banishment used to punish the inmate for his or her actions. Some people think race is involved in this issue but race really has nothing to do with this, while minorities may make up most of the prison population in the end anyone who is a felon will be denied the right to vote regardless of their race. Unfortunately, these …show more content…
(Chapman, 2006) If felons are trusted with rejoining society they can be trusted to vote for our leaders as well. After all, they did their time and paid for what they did; they should be given back the right to vote.
The right to vote is a privilege and just like every other privilege it can be taken away if we break the rules. While race was an issue in the past it is no longer an issue today when it comes to voting, any U.S. citizen today regardless of race can vote for whomever he or she wants, unless they get in trouble with the law that is. While people do get in trouble here and there I still believe that inmates should get a second chance after they’re released. Just like privileges are taken away they can also be returned after learning the lesson. Ex-convicts should be given back their right to vote after all they’re people, too right?
Mandatory and Good Time Release Mandatory release is the need by law to release a prisoner after they have served their entire maximum sentence. Good time credit/release is a strategy used to credit inmates with extra days served toward early release. It’s used to encourage inmates to obey the rules in prison (Fagin, 2014, p. 256-257).
One way inmates can receive or apply good time credit to their release is by having good behavior. By simply obeying the rules inmates can add good
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.
Felon voting is legal in some states if they have completed their time. Even though it is legal in many states, it does not mean that ex-convicts are trustworthy enough to decide what laws are put in place, when they can’t even follow them. All 50 states should ban the right for felons to vote after they have served their time. Felon voting happens across all around the United States. In most states the right to vote after they have completed their time has been banned for life, but in states like Maine and Vermont, felons can vote even in prison (Debate…). Most of the ex-cons that can vote, the crime they committed is usually not as serious than other felons that can’t vote anymore because their crime was really serious. “White collar
Since the beginning of the United States government, Americans have had the right to vote. This right is entitled to most citizens of America, but it is not entitled to citizens that have been convicted of felonies. This is called disenfranchisement; where an ex-felon cannot vote, own a weapon or go into the army. Specifically, voter disenfranchisement; only two states in the US are not subject to this law. In the past 40 years due to disenfranchisement the United States criminal justice system has withheld the voting rights of 6.1 million Americans due to their convictions. Maine and Vermont do not hold restrictions due to past felonies. With over 3.1 million civilians out of prisons or other facilities this hurts the overall point of democracy, making it unconstitutional to withhold these rights that are stated in the amendments for the knowledge of American citizens.
Many people believe that felons do not deserve the right to vote. For these people,
About 5.26 million people with a felony conviction are not allowed to vote in elections. Each state has its own laws on disenfranchisement. Nine states in America permanently restrict felons from voting while Vermont and Maine allow felons to vote while in prison. Proponents of felon re-enfranchisement believe felons who have paid their debt to society by completing their sentences should have all of their rights and privileges restored. They argue that efforts to block ex-felons from voting are unfair, undemocratic, and politically or racially motivated. Opponents of felon voting say the restrictions are consistent with other voting limitations such as age, residency, mental capacity, and other felon
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
Throughout the years, many citizens have fought for the right to vote. Immigrants that are in our country view this as being lucky just to have the opportunity to make a change. Felons have taken the privilege for granted. Many of the supporters of a felons right to vote believe it’s unfair to punish from taking their vote. But the real question is if you can trust the felon for making the right call.
In fact, ex-felons who have learned from their mistakes can offer a different perspective when creating laws. This perspective can help create laws that prevent others from committing similar crimes. If a felon has paid his debt to society and turned his life around they should have the right to vote.
Every race deserves the same respect as the other. In the reading “The New Jim Crow: Mass Incarceration in the Age of Colorblindness,” Alexander argues that “Today it is perfectly legal to discriminate against criminals all the ways that it was once legal to discriminate against African Americans” (Alexander 2). The author then continues on to illustrate that when a criminal receives that title of “a felon” that they no longer have the right to vote. According to and academic article “State Felon Disenfranchisement Policy” written by Robert
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.
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.
In Florida alone, more than 750,000 persons who have completed their sentences are ineligible to vote” (King, 2009). Those states who choose not to allow felons to vote feel as though they do not have the right to vote, because they have committed felony acts. Having that many people who can’t vote harms the U.S. due to the fact that they are unable to voice their opinion or input by voting.
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.
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