...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, stating...
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...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...
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...Megan Mahan Mrs. Keeth English II 1 November, 2017 Title The voting age in the United States should be lowered from eighteen to sixteen years of age. Lowering the voting age can increase the turnout of citizens who participate in electing officials. Once a teenager turns eighteen, they usually do not vote because they are off to college. Chris Lee states that eighteen year-olds do not have the time to vote because they are too busy in college, so they are less likely to vote when they get older (par. 7). If a teen does not vote until eighteen, though, it lowers the rate of voting because they are most likely not to vote ever or consistently. In the article “Lowering Voting Age could Increase Turnout” states “Many college-age students don’t pick up that habit because they live far from where they might be eligible to vote” (par. 8). Therefore, lowering the voting age can help get more people voting the older they get....
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...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 decided by the states. While some states have easier voting restrictions, others have stricter ones that make it harder for certain groups of people to gain the right to vote. However, currently all states share the common requirements that...
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...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...
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...Were Free Blacks in the North? “Those who deny freedom to others, deserve it not for themselves,” (Abraham Lincoln) In the 1800’s free African Americans lived very restricted lives, although they were able to earn money, own property and legally marry, they could no socialize with white people or participate in anything political. The first African Americans came to Jamestown in 1619 and soon after they were enslaved. Slavery in the United States lasted for around 245 years, that is a very long time considering people have been living in America for almost 400 years. Around the early 1800’s most Northern African Americans were no longer slaves but they lived very deprived lives, they were not allowed to vote, have jury duty or socialize...
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...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 two states, Vermont...
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...Americans have the right to vote it is also illegal to not let women or everyone have the right to vote. This speech is the most impactful to me because Susan B Anthony was the only African American in her time to fight for her rights and the right to vote. Susan B Anthony says that women should have equal rights as white men did. “ It was we, the people; not we the white male” the reason why I choose that is because susan says “ we the people’ and she is talking about we the black women. The reason why she is fighting for their right to vote is because the only citizens allowed to vote were the white male citizens if the black woman were caught voting they would be brought into the streets and beaten half to death and it was illegal to not let women vote. This provides evidence to support...
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...Closed Primaries Are you aware that in closed primary states people or voters have to declare their political party before even voting? In my essay I am encouraging that closed primaries get erased from the voting system. I believe that anyone can vote for whoever they please and they don't have to associate themselves with a party. Many states are affected by the restrictions of closed primaries and their policies. Eleven states across the United States which are Delaware, Florida, Kansas, Kentucky, Maine, Nebraska, New Jersey, New Mexico, New York, Pennsylvania, and Wyoming all suffering from closed primaries. Closed primaries is when a voter must choose a political party and support that political party if not then that person is not allowed...
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...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...
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...Federal and state governments have taken action but not all the time. Some actions have protected rights while others have limited rights. Women and African Americans are just two groups of many that have been discriminated. Discrimination to African Americans and Women has changed through history in different ways. Voting rights for African Americans have been denied. Most African Americans came to the U.S. as slaves and for many years were slaves. After the Civil War (during Reconstruction) African Americans could vote but that did...
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...Should felons have the right to vote? Do you think felons should have the right to vote? According to the constitution the Fourteenth Amendment grants to the states the authority to deny voting rights to anyone that has a criminal conviction. On paper this does seem to be pretty valid, if you break the law, things that at one time you were entitled to are now no longer allowed. In my opinion I feel that if a felon has made up for his/her mistakes then they should get another chance. For example if she/he has not got in trouble in over 10 years then maybe they learned their lesson and should be able to vote. You’re probably thinking about how even though they haven’t got in trouble in over 10 years they are still a convicted felon. I agree,...
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...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...
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...the Greek word Demos. The meaning is “the people”. In democracy the people vote on the legislation. The property owners (men) were the ones that were allowed to vote. on legislation. This meant the women and children were not allowed to vote. I really do not understand why a woman was not allowed to vote on legislation. Were women not citizens too? Unless a person has a criminal record or mentally unfit then he or she should be able to vote on the legislation as long as they are citizens. Why are the guidelines so strong. If a person is of sound mind and an American citizen he or she should be able to vote on anything. The ones that are voting on everything from gay rights to congressional raises are where they are today because we put them there and they need to remember this. It seems like when they get up on the pedestal where they have placed themselves they forget about us the little person. I think that everything should be voted on by the people and not just a hand full that seem to have their best interest at heart and not ours. The people should be allowed to vote on things like health care reform, pay freezes and cuts, and pay raises for congress etc. The trouble with things in the past and today is everyone is looking out for themselves and does not give a thought to others. I especially think the next time our government gives millions of dollars to big businesses we should have a vote in it, after all that is our money to start with. Now do not get me wrong...
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...Did you know that 50 years before women got to vote, there was a woman named Victoria Woodhull who ran for political office? You see, 168 years ago, in 1848, Women’s Rights began because women Couldn’t vote, this revolution lasted 72 years before women could finally vote in 1920. In the Victorian Era, scientists proved that women were by nature inferior to men. They even claimed that their skull size and brain were small. Well that’s wrong because women are smart and there are reports of women having a very high IQ, some higher than Albert Einstein. Most doctors of the Victorian period felt like women felt no or very little sexual desire and that only atypical women felt strong sexual desire. Why did so many states deny women the right to vote? In my...
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