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Pros And Cons Of Ex-Felons

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Should Ex-Felons be allowed to Vote after Their Time has been served?
“To be shut out of the process is like a perpetual punishment and a slap in the face, saying you’re never going to be a citizen.” Desmond Meade, chairman of Floridians for Fair Democracy and former drug addict, stated this to describe his feelings when he received his degree in law but not his license to practice. Unfortunately, this situation occurs frequently in certain states around the country. Many people convicted of felonies, from one-time drug users to killers, are stripped of their voting rights permanently. Convicted felons or ex-felons, like Desmond Meade, can only restore their rights through a timely and costly process called clemency, a legal process that grants …show more content…

Presidential elections remain some of the most influential elections in terms of how our country is ran. This country could have potentially been under control of different leaders and retain different policies than what we follow today simply by allowing the ex-felon population to vote in only one state. The 2000 presidential election could have easily been switched around if ex-felons in Florida were allowed to vote. (Ford 3) Many Americans believe this to be false considering the numbers of Florida residents versus the number of citizens occupying the rest of America. However, in any election, local or national, every vote counts. Statistically, Florida only grants a certain amount of felons their voting rights back leaving the rest of them to sit home and watch the elections. With how close elections can be, it really can come down to only a small number of votes needed. Republican legislatures believe that by allowing ex-felons to vote, they would give up the thought of ever having another republican member in the head of government because they feel that felons would register as democrats, which shifts the political views and number of voters during elections. 1 in 10 voting age Floridians could not cast a ballot in the last presidential election (Kander 9) Republican legislatures contribute to the ratio by not allowing ex-felons to vote simply by claiming they will register as democrats. Because they believe this, it throws off the whole political bias and clearly effects the outcome of important government decision. A one in ten ratio really defines how this restoration process affects Americans and their opinions. By shifting the election outcome, it has set back the restoration process even farther. It became so large of a setback that now felons

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One example, “341 felons in the Minneapolis-St. Paul area illegally voted in the 2008 election. Compared with 2.7 million votes cast in the state, 341 seems insignificant but after the recount of the U.S senate race between Norm Coleman and Al Franken, Franken’s margin of victory was only 312 votes. The illegal votes cast by felons were not discovered until after the recount, making 341 an awfully significant number” (Kobach). This shows that even though the number may be small it can still change the election in the opponent's favor. Another example is that 50 votes were illegally casted by citizens of Somalia, they all voted for J.J. Rizzo, he ended up winning by one vote.

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This is certainly a conflicting issue. While it is fair to value the welfare of law abiding citizens over the welfare of convicted felons, placing restricting on felons presents the issue of those felons lacking the ability to become a contributing member of society. Like you mentioned, that can provide the push needed for them to return to crime rather than working towards a steady life of their own. Further research into the costs and benefits of such restrictions is necessary to determine whether these types of restrictions actually do benefit society overall like they intend to.

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But the list was so poorly drawn that people who had never been convicted of a crime were kicked off the rolls. So were hundreds of former felons from other states who had been granted clemency and should have been allowed to vote” (Hiaasen 8). People who should be allowed to vote were not able to because of a list that contained incorrect information. Many Florida citizens were affected by this. “35,865 [were] identified as felons because name and birth date matched” (Hiaasen 8).

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Since 1100 B.C this wrongful wave of taking away ex-felon and incarcerated felon’s right to vote and other basic rights has been happening and needs to come to a stop. In the U.S alone there is 3.9 million Americans that are denied their voting rights either permanently or temporarily due to disenfranchisement. There is only two states in the nation,Maine and Vermont, who does not practice eliminating felons of their voting rights. The pass forty years disenfranchisement laws has affected the political part of America. Ex and current felons deserve their right to vote because it is their constitutional rights, allows them to have their voices heard, and it is ethical .

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Today, more and more people often find themselves on the opposite side of the law. This can be for various reasons and some of the people who are convicted for crimes may in fact be innocent. There has always been a controversy on whether convicted felons should be able to vote or if they should be ostracized from political matters in general. In Texas, voting rights should be unalienable and be given to everyone including felons when they are incarcerated because if everyone doesn’t have the right to vote, this could be seen as a form of discrimination and result in prejudice acts against them.

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Felony voting: Unjust or rightful justice As of 2008 over 5.3 million Americans were denied the right to vote due to felony disenfranchisement laws. The United states is among the most punitive nations in the world when it comes to denying the right to vote and this has consequently caused voting rights to be a controversial issue for years now. Disenfranchisement can be linked back to centuries ago, in western countries, felony disenfranchisement can be traced back to ancient greek and roman traditions and was commonly used as a part of the punishment that was put on those convicted of “infamous” crimes and was a part of their civil deaths. Although, many people like myself believe that the limits that are being put on felons

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The American Civil Liberties Union describes the laws surrounding felon disenfranchisement “patchwork laws.” Felon voting laws have been established at the state level, meaning that there are a wide array of policies in place to address the issue. Vermont and Maine are the only two states where everyone has the right to vote regardless of their criminal history. Florida, Iowa, and Kentucky meanwhile are the only 3 states that permanently strip felons of their voting rights. The other 45 states have more nuanced laws, that allow felons to vote after completing certain parts of their sentencing.

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Currently in America, voting rights for felons is a topic that does not have an equal consensus across states. In two states, Maine and Vermont, felons never lose their right to vote. While in others, they lose the right only when incarcerated and in the rest, this right is removed until completion of probation or pardon. Given that this country has the largest prison population, it is necessary for that percentage of the population to have a clear voice in making political decisions in order to have a fully functional democracy. Moreover, imprisonment serves as a punishment for crime(s) committed, but by punishing felons by taking away their right to vote, we are silencing them and stripping them of their rights to be a part of the society.

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First of all, a felon should not be allowed to vote because, their judgement is questionable. A felon is an individual who has committed a serious crime, typically involving violence, and usually serves more than a year in imprisonment. Children and mentally incompetent individuals are not allowed to vote due to their judgement being unquestionable (Shaw, Jerry 2015). A felon’s judgment is just as, if not more problematic. Not only is their judgement questionable, but individuals who commit felonies are typically untrustworthy.

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