Throughout the nation there are 5.3 million Americans who are denied their right to vote because they have a criminal conviction on their record (“Felon Voting Rights”). In the state of Florida, a felon can’t apply for his right to vote to be restored until at least five years after he has completed his sentence, with no guarantee of his rights being restored. Violent and repeat felons haven’t proved they are good citizens; however non-violent felons, who have committed victimless crimes, should be allowed to have their rights restored when they have served their time and paid off their fines. Non-violent felons would have a better chance of readapting into society because they would be able to vote in elections, be rehabilitated, and return to fully contributing members of society. Since felons aren’t allowed to vote, 5.3 million people aren’t allowed to go to the polls during an election, whether it is a national or a local election. All of those votes could really affect a big election, especially one like voting for president. In her article, Forgotten Citizens Must Be Given Back Their Right to Vote, Sasha Abramsky states that one in four black men throughout much of the South are unable to vote, [along with] a high percentage of poverty-level whites and Latinos. As a result of this, the electorate is shrunken; as it shrinks, election results don’t reflect the full will or need of the population. Allowing nonviolent felons to vote again would increase the number of people voting and better reflect the need of the population. There are ways to prevent many people from losing their rights to begin with. Kentucky senator Rand Paul suggested that reclassifying felonies like drug possession and non-payment of child support int... ... middle of paper ... ...on Voting - ProCon.org." ProConorg Headlines. ProCon.org, 12 Feb. 2014. Web. 10 Apr. 2014. Uggen, Christopher, and Jeff Manza. "Why Should Felons Vote?" Democracys Ghost. N.p., n.d. Web. 27 Feb. 2014. Uggen, Christopher, Sarah Shannon, and Jeff Manza. "State-Level Estimates of Felon Disenfranchisement in the United States, 2010." The Sentencing Project News -. The Sentencing Project, 20 Aug. 2012. Web. 28 Feb. 2014. "Parole and Re-Entry - Right on Crime." Right on Crime. Texas Public Policy Foundation and Justice Fellowship, n.d. Web. 28 Feb. 2014. "Successful Reintegration After Incarceration Resources." Successful Reintegration After Incarceration Resources. The Band Back Together Project, n.d. Web. 26 Feb. 2014. Urevich, Robin. "Women’s Reentry Court Focuses on Rehab." California Health Report. California Health Report, 22 Jan. 2014. Web. 28 Feb. 2014.
What if one day you weren't allowed to voice your opinion about the people who run our country, your country, in other words, if you couldn’t vote? A lot of people don’t vote, but what if you didn’t even have the right to do so? In 12 states, ex-felons aren’t allowed to vote even after serving their prison time. When you think of a felon you probably think of someone that has done terrible things and shouldn't have a voice in politics, but that figure should be changed. One lady, by the name of Leola Strickland, isn’t allowed to vote because she has a felony on her record for postdating a few checks and having them bounce because she lost her job(1).
The feelings of allowing felons to vote is chilling; those who have been to prison have committed crimes and are out to get their rights back. But it is clear that felons should be “disenfranchised because they have broken the laws,” says Edward Feser, a philosophy professor and writer. Yet people are still questioning whether it is moral to keep felons from getting the rights to vote. Disenfranchising felons is unintentional in racial issues, and is used to punish felons to teach them that once they've broken the laws, they have lost their voting rights as well, and it would also keep felons from violating fellow citizens' voting rights.
Women in Prison. Washington, D.C.: Bureau of Justice Statistics Varnam, Steve. Our prisons are a crime (reforming the prison system). Editorial. Christianity Today 21 June 1993
Zhang, S. X., Roberts, R. E. L., & Callanan, V. J. (2006). Preventing parolees from returning to prison through community-based reintegration. Crime & Delinquency, 52(4), 551-571.
Most politicians argue that because a felon has committed a crime that their judgment can no longer be trusted. Some believe that they gave up there civil liberties when they chose to commit a crime. However, with the exception of children and the mentally incompetent, people who have to live with the consequences of an election should have their opinion counted. Convicts lose their civil rights while incarcerated. Others who agree with felons regaining their voting rights argued that if they really could not be trusted to change then they should never be let out of prison. Although they lost their civil liberties w...
One of the more controversial debates in today’s political arena, especially around election times, is that of felon disenfranchisement. The disenfranchisement of felons, or the practice of denying felons and ex-felons the right to vote, has been in practice before the colonization of America and traces back to early England; however, it has not become so controversial and publicized until recent times. “In today’s political system, felons and ex-felons are the only competent adults that are denied the right to vote; the total of those banned to vote is approximately 4.7 million men and women, over two percent of the nation’s population” (Reiman 3).
The United States has a larger percent of its population incarcerated than any other country. America is responsible for a quarter of the world’s inmates, and its incarceration rate is growing exponentially. The expense generated by these overcrowded prisons cost the country a substantial amount of money every year. While people are incarcerated for a number of reasons, the country’s prisons are focused on punishment rather than reform, and the result is a misguided system that fails to rehabilitate criminals or discourage crime. The ineffectiveness of the United States’ criminal justice system is caused by mass incarceration of non-violent offenders, racial profiling, and a high rate of recidivism.
The United States is one of the only few democratic countries that disenfranchises convicted felons. An estimated 5.85 million people charged with a felony are banned from voting. Moreover, felon disenfranchisement laws are a form of racial discrimination because a large percentage of felons are Hispanic, Latino or African American that have been incarcerated as a result of racial profiling. Denying felons from voting is unconstitutional since the right to vote and cast a ballot is supposed to be the cornerstone of democracy. Felons who have completed their sentence should be restored their right to vote as they should be able to participate in elections just like every other citizen. Despite being charged with a felony, felons are also American
Should Felons Lose the Right to Vote? Retrieved from http://blogs.wsj.com/law/2010/03/22/should-felons-lose-the-right-to-vote/. Karlan, Pamela (2004). The 'Pale of the 'Pale of the 'Pale of the "Convictions and Doubts: Retribution, Representation, and the Debate" over Felon Disenfranchisement," Stanford Law Review, Vol. 78, No. 1, pp 56, No. 2 -. 5, Krajick, Kevin. The Species of the World.
Drago, F., Galbiati, R. & Vertova, P. (2011). Prison conditions and recidivism. American law and economics review, 13 (1), pp. 103--130.
...he right to vote. I made a ten question survey that asked questions about letting convicted felons have the right to vote in major elections throughout America. Thirteen out of thirty high school students said that convicted felons should have the right to vote because they are American citizens. The other seventeen people I surveyed said that they should not have the right to vote because they had their chance to perform correctly in society and failed miserably. As you can now see, I have given you many reasons to see that convicted felons should not have the right to vote. They cannot be trusted with such a responsibility as voting for this country’s next leader.
In most states ex-felons are not allowed to vote. This takes away a large portion of the voting population because of how many ex-felons there are right now and the many more that will be in the future. Ex-felons may also have a very hard time finding a job or a place to live. Legally landlords are allowed to deny an ex-felon. In Carbondale Illinois rental properties owners “Home Rentals” does background checks to make sure that none of their potential renters are felons. If they are felons Home Rentals claims that they will deny them the privilege of living in one of their properties. Ex-felons may also have a hard time finding jobs. Not many employers are willing to employ ex-felons for the fear of more crime or less commitment. Though denying these ex-felons jobs will not help the economy, only giving them jobs can help that.
The Sentencing Project. Uneven Justice: State Rates of Incarceration by Race and Ethnicity. Retrieved from http://www.sentencingproject.org/doc/publications/rd_stateratesofincbyraceandethnicity.pdf The Sentencing Project. (2008).
The right to vote is a right that according to law is entitled to everyone once you have reached the age of 18, but what happens if you break the law? Do you still have the right to vote for upcoming officials, or once the law has been broken has your right to vote been forfeited? Voting is a privilege and a privilege only. Ignorance is not an excuse and individuals should know better but what if when felonies have completed their time or still is doing time, should they still be allowed to vote? No, but when their debt is paid it is important to bring their rights back and allow them to vote again. The United States is one of the strictest nations when it comes to rejecting the right to vote to citizens that have been convicted of multiple of serious crimes. Thousands of Americans are forbidden to vote because of what philosophers call “felon disenfranchisement,” referring to those people who banned from voting otherwise eligible due to conviction of a criminal offense usually restricted to serious class of crimes
Denying ex-convicts the right to vote and the right to access food stamps serves as a way of rejecting the felons and violation of the basic human right of freedom. Denial of these basic human right add up to the many causes of recidivism in any state.