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Pros And Cons Of Felon Disenfranchisement

1163 Words5 Pages

Felon disenfranchisement did not start in the United States. In fact, the practice of felon disenfranchisement began in ancient Greece and Rome before evolving even more in England with “outlawry”, by the time this practice came to the United States it began to evolve into what it is today based on the other nations practices (Grady, 2012, pp. 443-445). Felon disenfranchisement, for those who do not know, is taking away a felon’s right to vote. Usually, this only occurs when they are incarcerated, but some states also do not allow the ex-felons to vote even when they are back in regular society. In Michigan, felons are granted their right to vote again once they are freed from incarceration. Though some may disagree, the state of Michigan should …show more content…

Many felons find it hard to reintegrate themselves back into the population if they are denied their right to vote (Sigler, 2014, p. 1738) Many felons are willing to reintegrate themselves back into society, and many are willing to do so by voting. Allowing them to vote is allowing them to feel like they are apart of society again, and not another class of people that are not allowed to speak their minds and have their voices heard. In fact, an experiment that took place showed that the voting from pre-incarceration to post-incarceration increased by four percent for previously convicted felons (Gerber et al., 2015, p. 924). This shows that convicts are willing to vote, wanting to vote, and feel the need to have their voting rights restored to fully reintegrate themselves back into society like many want them …show more content…

From beginning in ancient Greece and Rome to evolving in England to evolving into what it is now today, this practice has changed greatly throughout the years. Still, not allowing someone the right to vote when they have done their time for the crime that they have committed is a practice that should end. In Michigan, ex-convicts are given the chance to reintegrate themselves into society once they are freed, and one of the main ways they do this is by voting. Instead of fighting against it, Michigan should just keep allowing felons a voice with voting once they are freed from

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