...Should Convicted Felons Be Allowed To Vote? For many years felony disenfranchisement has cost convicted felons their right to vote. This law caused 5.3 million people were denied the right to vote in 2008. Everyone should have a voice and because they made a mistake you can’t just take it away. Ten thousand people are wrongly convicted every year; that is 10,000 voices taken away every year. “When people vote, they feel like they’re part of something bigger than themselves. “(Justice) So would you like someone to take your voice? Should felons have the right to vote? Convicted felons should not have their right to vote taken away. The Constitution of United States of America in the first three words state,” We the People “. Taking the voice...
Words: 441 - Pages: 2
...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
...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
...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 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...
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
...only to be 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...
Words: 865 - Pages: 4
...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
...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,...
Words: 350 - Pages: 2
...Introduction to Criminal Justice Assignment 8_08 Part A 1. Describe 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...
Words: 1915 - Pages: 8
...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
...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
...The disenfranchisement of ex-convicts is a 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
...inefficiencies. These factors include among other things and not limited to voters registration requirement, which makes voting a two-step process. In most states, citizens who may wish to vote must obtain and fill out a paper application. It is evident that a significant number of people do not fulfill this first step which invariably prevents them from voting. Secondly, the Tuesday voting day also contributed immensely to low turnout of voters because many go to work since no holiday is declared and is not on a weekend. Voluntary Voting, being a condition where voting is not made compulsory, leaving people to decide whether to vote or not is a plague contributing to low turnout. Many Democratic Nations report good turnout of voters because they made voting compulsory in which a failure could be termed as disobedience to state law and could result in some level of punishment or denial of certain benefits. Felon disenfranchisement, a situation in which our citizens in correctional facilities are not allowed to vote also affects voters’ turnout. It is on record that America is the only democratic nation in the world that does not allow Felons to vote. In order to increase voter turnout, voting should be made compulsory, voters registration made automatic, days of election made public holidays and Felons allowed to...
Words: 252 - Pages: 2
...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
...that the defendant did a lot of drinking at the nearby bar.” What, if any, objections should the defense make to each one of the witness’s statements? For the statement of “I measured the defendant’s skid marks, and I believe he was driving at least 5 miles per hour”, the defense should make a specific objection on the ground that the question calls for an opinion from the witness. Lay witnesses cannot give opinions on matters beyond the common experience and understanding of an ordinary person. The witness must be qualified as an expert to be permitted to testify as to the speed of a car based on the observation of the car’s skid marks on the pavement. For the witness’s statement, “In my opinion, anyone who drinks two beers becomes intoxicated”, the defense should also make a specific objection on the ground that the question calls or an opinion from the witness. The witness’s first words from that statement is “In my opinion”, and it is exactly that; an opinion. Rule 701 of the Federal Rules of Evidence limits lay witnesses to testifying to those opinions rationally based on the perception of the witness. The statement, “When I saw the defendant right after the accident, his face appeared flushed and he staggered as he walked” made by the witness might be challenged by a general objection by the defense counsel on the ground that the testimony is irrelevant. Lastly, the defense should make a specific objection...
Words: 614 - Pages: 3
