...Felon Voting In the United States, people convicted with felony are barred from participating in voting in any election. According to Lawyers' Committee for Civil Rights Under Law (2008), it is estimated that about five million felony victims have been denied this chance, a condition referred to as disenfranchisement. Every state in America has its own law concerning disenfranchisement. Felons are only allowed to vote in Maine and Vermont states (Lawyers' Committee for Civil Rights Under Law, 2008). Some states demand that felon re-enfranchisement should be enhanced to allow felons who have already completed their sentence to participate in elections. They argue that their privileges and rights should be restored by allowing them to cast votes. According to them, blocking felons from voting is undemocratic, unfair, racially, and politically motivated while opponents state that felons have poor judgment, and should not be entrusted with this fundamental right. This research paper gives a clear summary of two articles concerning their position on felon voting. The first article is Liberal and republication argument against the disenfranchisement of felons by Jeffrey Reiman, and the second one is Locked out: felon disenfranchisement and America democracy by Jeff Manza and Christopher Uggen. Both articles indicate that disenfranchisement of criminal offenders who are already through with their sentences is ethically and morally wrong. The two authors lobby for the enfranchisement...
Words: 1574 - Pages: 7
...Because as a young person I made mistakes. Those mistakes are still haunting me when I want to vote or apply for a better job. My conviction will always haunt me even though I now have a family, own a home, and have a good job. I feel like I'm not a part of my community at times because I cannot currently vote. However, I understand why I cannot. The laws that prevent me from voting protect those that have not been convicted of a crime. If I were to have my voting right, then many others that have not lead a successful post-prison life could make decisions regarding our government. Felons should only be able to vote if they have completed prison,...
Words: 1754 - Pages: 8
...Should Felons be Allowed to Vote? 1 In this essay, I will be in support of felons having their voting rights restored after serving their prison sentences and completing all terms and conditions of probation or parole successfully. My reasons for supporting the restoration of felons’ voting rights are because voting is a “right” under the Constitution of the United States. After a person serves their prison sentence; some ex-felons have the ability to be and remain rehabilitated and live productive lives. Also, the laws are changing making it easier to be charged as a felon. Most of the people that are against felons voting claim that they make bad judgments because they do not abide by the laws. Also, convicted felons continue to violate the laws and further prove they are irresponsible, and felons need to be taught a lesson about breaking the laws (“ProCon.org”). Does a person lose citizenship when convicted of a felony? Citizens convicted of a felony but who have completed their sentencing and parole requirements should enjoy all of the same rights as other citizens. I refute disenfranchisement because it is not a novel practice. Its roots are historic. There have been numerous legal challenges to disenfranchisement laws, and courts have found the practice to be unconstitutional. In these legal challenges, one argument, which courts have never fully examined, however, is that disenfranchisement is linked to...
Words: 1909 - Pages: 8
...supposedly protecting our rights and taking into account the views of all of its citizens. Citizens express their views by voting for representatives to speak on their behalf or by joining interest groups. In our current voting system however, many groups of people are barred from voting, yet they are forced to abide to the laws passed by our government. Whether it is because they are undocumented immigrants, felons, or even because their state requires tests that they are incapable of passing, these people are being unfairly represented in our government. Although our constitution provides the framework for our voting system, it leaves the right to the states to establish who is able to vote and who isn’t. In order to prevent this inequality in the voting process, states should be required to share the same voting requirements and it should be easier for immigrants to gain their citizenship so they as well can have a say in government. The American constitution established the framework of the voting system that we use today in our modern society. Voting first started in 1776, during the time of the colonies and the revolution and only white male Protestants were able to vote. At the time when George Washington was elected President, only 6% of the current population was eligible to vote, so voting was very restricted. In 1866 the Civil Rights Act granted citizenship to all American born people. However, it did not mention that all citizens had the right to vote, it left that to be...
Words: 1846 - Pages: 8
...time, should you have the right to vote? I think felons should be able to vote. Felons are still members of this country and society. Just because someone has made a mistake we are still human beings living in a country where we have no say so and one of which we have no option as to whether we stay or go. Why must the government tell us we can’t vote but yet we have to live in this country from now on. Where is the justification in this? everyone should have the right to vote. if you live in this country and you are a citizen, you should be able to vote. People who have gotten caught committing a crime are most all the same as those who have committed the same crime and have not gotten caught. People commit crimes all the time and are not thought of differently until they are caught. I think Felons should really be able to vote because they have freedom of speech, still are able to live in the USA, & they deserve a second chance in life. These are all good reason why everybody, no matter if you are a felon or not should have the right to vote....
Words: 637 - Pages: 3
...Who do you think should be allowed to vote? Many people think that the voting age should be lowered or raised. Also if felons should be allowed to vote in prison. The typical voting age is eight teen. Nearly six million Americans cannot vote due to disenfranchisement laws. I think that the age for voting should stay eight teen. Also felons should not be able to vote because they can’t be trusted. Do you think that the age should stay at eight teen? The twenty sixth amendment ratified in 1971 establishes that eight teen year olds as the minimum voting age for both state and federal elections. Did you know that the original thirteen American colonies mostly set the voting age at twenty one reflecting the British law? Only seventy nine...
Words: 714 - Pages: 3
...denied. These American citizens, who are also felons, are being denied the right to vote due to disenfranchisement laws. In the United States, “Two states, Vermont and Maine, allow convicted felons to vote while in prison. Nine states permanently restrict certain felons from voting (until and if granted the state governor's pardon) even if those people have served their prison sentence, parole, probation, and paid all fines. The remaining 36 states fall somewhere in between,” (ProCon.org, 2009). Felons should have the right to vote, as they have paid or are paying their debt to society, and the millions of missing felony votes impact all of us. How many times have you voted in a close race and your candidate did not win? Imagine if just a fraction of the felons that share your views were allowed to vote just like they are allowed to pay taxes. Millions of Americans in our republic are not represented at every election due to non-felony voting, which can be said to be undemocratic, and as such, felons should be allowed to vote in all states. “The legislature has sent a clear message that voting is a fundamental right that should not be stripped away from people who are working, paying taxes and contributing to their communities, “said Steven Brown, Executive Director of the ACLU of Rhode Island. According to the National Voter Registration Act of 1993, the right of citizens of the United States to vote is a fundamental right. An author from the New York Times agrees,...
Words: 865 - Pages: 4
...There’s controversy between whether felons should be allowed to vote. A felon is a person who has been convicted of a felony, which is a crime punishable by death or a term in state or federal prison ("What Is a Felon and What Is a Felony?" ProConorg Headlines. N.p., n.d. Web. 20 July 2014). This means that any U.S citizen who commits a crime that’s considered a felony will be sentenced to either the death penalty or will serve time in a state or federal prison. There are pros and cons pertaining to this particular subject. Comparing the pros and cons of whether felons should be allowed to vote will challenge facts and the opinions of others. Being able to vote is a right not a privilege. The right to vote in America is a key element of what...
Words: 777 - Pages: 4
...rehabilitate and to punish individuals who have committed crimes. Punishment and rehabilitation often have conflicting approaches to dealing with reprimands in the legal system. Rehabilitation seeks to remove the person from their environment so they can learn how to be a productive citizen. Punishment attempts to teach a lesson though the removal of freedoms and the restrictions of rights. Felony disenfranchisement, where a convicted felon is banned from voting in any elections for the rest of their lives, is one of the more controversial punishments. The use of felony disenfranchisement...
Words: 963 - Pages: 4
...are barred from their right to vote because they have been convicted of a felony. (Felon Voting ProCon.org, 2013) Out of those 5.85 million people convicted of felonies, how many could be wrongly convicted? Instead of taking away voting rights from all felons and ex-felons, let’s focus more on how to still give these people rights as United States Citizens, not making them feel like they are completely cut off from society. One in every 40 Americans stand to become disenfranchised even after they have served their time in jail. After serving 40 long wrongly convicted years in jail, Walter Lomax has spent two-thirds of his life in the Maryland prison. “The emotion in his voice changes as he takes a pause, attempting to put into words how it felt to exercise the right after serving 40 years, wrongly convicted, in a Maryland prison.” (Taylor, p. A.1) How can we as a society agree that this is the right thing to do? Though some people feel that the disenfranchisement of felons is the right thing to do, there are others that believe that the disenfranchisement of ex-felons who have served their time and have completed their sentences is “morally wrong”. (Reiman, p. 3) As stated on page three in the article “Liberal and Republican Arguments against the Disenfranchisement of Felons”, there are two different lines of theories being the lines of classical liberal and classical republican. The liberal argument for the disenfranchisement of convicted felons states that the criminals...
Words: 1241 - Pages: 5
...the loss of the right to vote for inmates who are incarcerated. Prisoners are citizens too. They may have committed a felony, but they are still citizens of their home country. Some people think prisoners should not have the right to vote, but many others think they should. About two million people in U.S. are in prison. All those people do not get to cast a vote in the election. They are not able to decide who runs the country they live in. Imagine not being able to have a say in our country. We are a democracy, which means everyone has the right to vote in our government. Prisoners should be allowed to vote because they still are citizens and still have rights. Prisoners should be able to vote and influence the outcome of an election . If all the prisoners were allowed to vote it may have an impact on the election. Prisoners want the chance to vote. As of February 2011 the United States was in the lead of number of prisoners with 2,019,234. Prisoners do not have a say in the government. In New York people who are on parole cannot vote. As of 2004 thirty-five states forbid people who have just been released from prison to vote. In the constitution it states everyone is given the right to vote. Amendment 15 is the voting rights act. In the first section of this amendment, it states the right to vote cannot be taken away from people based on their color, race, or what has happened previously in their life. That amendment is not being applied to the rights of prisoners. Only...
Words: 1915 - Pages: 8
...can't vote. These who can not vote have committed a crime. Either if it was a big crime a small crime the can't vote in some states. Many people are very anger by this because they simply made a dumb mistake as a teenager. Now they are having part of their freedom taken away even tho they have moved on and have a better life now. Voting should have restrictions but not taken away altogether. Out of 50 states only 2 have given the right to vote to every us citizen in the state. Even if they have committed a crime or not. Only Maine and Vermont are the only states in the USA to have all us citizens. Fourteen...
Words: 773 - Pages: 4
...punished yet still deal with the effects for years to come. Felons are a part of society and should be treated as such especially if they are reformed. A person can commit a crime that results in a felony and twenty years later still suffer the harsh reality of certain privileges being taken away. Yes, an individual should be punished for their crimes but the effects of a felony conviction should not include or affect that person’s right to vote, finding employment, or the pursuance of a higher education. According to Olivares, Burton, and Cullen (1996) upon release these offenders also deal with stigmas, loss of job opportunities, friendships, family relationships, and denial of civil rights. When it comes to the loss of job opportunities, a recent study has shown that most employers have hired at least one person with a felony conviction (Sawnson, Langfitt-Reese & Bond, 2012). Employers encourage job seekers with criminal records to be honest and willing to discuss their involvement with the justice system. Most employers did not have strict policies concerning hiring criminals and this is a plus. Convicted job seekers should follow standard job hunting techniques, but also be creative such as finding dependable references and making face-to-face contact. This should help the employer get a good idea of how the job seeker is trying to move forward and change their lives. Temporary job services often offer felons jobs and this could help them get the experience they need...
Words: 2221 - Pages: 9
...Being an Ex-felon in America Jay Wainwright Axia College of University of Phoenix Being an Ex-felon in America There are many people in society who are still being treated unfairly. There is still a major disconnect from mainstream society and ex-felons. There are many people with opinions on how to help the ex-convict to become a productive member of society, except for the voice or better said by the rhetoric of the ex-felon, the one who has paid his or, her debt to society by doing harsh and terrible prison time. Yes, ex means nothing when it comes to a person from a criminal past. Everyone has already heard the rhetoric about “everyone is created equal” but, this rhetoric has been tested before and still being tested today. This is just some of the topics that will be presented in this paper. Ex-felons are underprivileged and treated unfairly because people of society are unforgiving and ex-cons are barely given any opportunities to change. Some ex-felons are underprivileged in many aspects of society due to one’s criminal past or better said mistakes. Ex-felons are not permitted to obtain a firearms license after one is convicted of a felony. One cannot conceal a firearm to protect one’s place of residence and most places ex-felons live, a firearm is needed. There are burglars everywhere but majority of them live in the same places as an ex-felon. How are ex-felons supposed to protect his or, her home...
Words: 2129 - Pages: 9
...very important issue. African Americans make up a significant amount of those being denied their rights to vote because of a felony conviction. Although many people believe that ex-convicts should not be allowed to vote, it is an unfair policy because the system by which felons can reacquire their civil rights is a flawed one, the disenfranchisement policy is particularly biased against African Americans, and the act of withholding voting rights defies American democratic principles. One major way that the system by which felons can reacquire their civil rights is flawed is expressed by the Tampa Bay Times reporter Steve Bousquet, who asserts that “to regain those rights, a felon must petition the governor and Cabinet for...
Words: 698 - Pages: 3
