Persuasive Essay Felons

Felons Need a Voice

"6.1 million People in the United States (2.5% of the nation's voting age) could not vote due to a felony conviction" (Uggen).That's a pretty big group of the population that isn’t allowed to vote just because they have a felony. People against felons voting have rested on the fact that we put them in jail to keep them out of society, so we shouldn't let them vote. Or because they broke the law, meaning they gave up their right. And even more simply they’ve proven bad judgment; they shouldn’t be able to vote. But what about after they served their time, that’s the end of their crime. They paid their debt to society. "People make mistakes in life. You shouldn't have to live with that for the rest of your life," (McAuliffe). Says Terry

Allowing felons to vote, steers us away from continuing to punish them for a crime that they’ve already paid forgives them an opportunity to prove that they can change, and aids

When a felon comes home from prison they already have so many challenges to face. "…The largest barriers to building a normal life after prison are trouble finding jobs and housing, along with ongoing legal struggles.”And that’s on top of even more basic challenges, like transportation to work or to see a probation officer."(Lindley).Not only does voting give them normalcy, and a chance to contribute positively to society; It gives them a voice, a positive voice. Voting gives them a chance to make important decisions about the world that we live in. They can’t fully rehabilitate if they aren't living a normal life. People can change, but we have to give them the opportunity to show us, and that’s what having the right to vote does. It says you have served your time and you can live a normal life, you can act like a citizen and not an inmate. We can’t expect them to re integrate positively to society if we don’t give them that basic fundamental