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Should Felons Be Allowed To Vote Essay

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A felon is someone who has been convicted a crime of a serious nature. In the United States alone there are more than 7.1 million convicted felons today. When you are convicted of a felony you automatically lose your right to vote. I believe everyone that has a job, pays taxes, and has served their due time to society should be allowed to vote. In our country, every citizen is supposed to have the right to vote, as should felons because they do not lose their citizenship when they get put in jail. A recently released felon making the right moves then we are denying them the very basic human right to vote. In 2010, out of the voting population, 2.5% were denied the right to vote because of a previous felony conviction. In recent years, 28 states have passed laws that allow convicted felons to vote but only once they have completed their sentence and anything that was given to do upon being released from prison. Once released, this means that they have worked off the punishment that …show more content…

When a convicted felon is released from prison, the last thing they want to be known for is spending so much time in prison and being labeled a convicted felon. With all the things, they are required to do upon being released, they should not have the added pressure of knowing they have no say so on who is deemed President of the United States. With this being said, if they have committed a serious crime, such as murder, and seem to have no remorse and could be capable of doing it again then no, I do not believe we should give them the privilege of voting. As stated, voting is a privilege, but also a right, among United States citizens and it is understandable in certain cases to deny someone this right. Although if they have served their time and debt to society we should, not forget, but allow them to do their civil duty and

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Instead of facing a punishment, these criminals are treated just like law-abiding citizens. In addition, the authors explain that disenfranchisement rulings “[serve] the same purpose as the other forms of punishment for felonies: to discourage people from committing serious crimes by making them forfeit not only a year or more of their lives in prison, but by excluding them from the body of citizens who make the rules they agree to abide by.” The article explains that people who have committed felonies must be disciplined in order to learn a lesson. Many states that fail to punish released felons have people who may repeat their illegal activities. They may try to test the government and bend the rules.

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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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In his article, Removing the Stigma of Past Incarceration: Ban the Box, Bill Mosley explains it is “understandable that many employers may believe it is their best interest to avoid hiring ex-convicts. But it is also in the interest of society at large to reintegrate ex-convicts into society and to stop adding to the large underclass of former prisoners with minimal prospects of earning an honest living.” Mosley acknowledges the discomfort an employer may experience knowing one of their employees have a criminal history, however he supports his opinion by immediately explaining the most effective medium of reducing the number of former prisoners in society is to integrate them into the working force. His purport in this piece of text is to accentuate the importance society as a whole has in terms of eliminating criminal discrimination. In addition to Mosley’s argument, Daryl V. Atkinson and Kathleen Lockwood, in their article The Benefits of Ban the Box, claim that “hiring people with criminal records facilitates public safety by reducing recidivism rates.”

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United States citizens with a criminal background should be allowed to vote in their state of residency Ontreal Harris Professor Ross Composition II Reference Shaw, Jerry. “When Did Ex-Felons Lose Their Rights to Vote? A History.” Newsmax. Newsmax Media, Inc.

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The removal of this right dehumanizes prisoners. The streets of Texas are filled with blue or white collar criminals on bail or simply waiting for their sentence. Presently, if individual are found guilty of a crime, but they are not given a judicial sentence they are still allowed to vote; why should there be treated differently from convicted criminals who are locked up? However, allowing prisoners to vote while in prison would increase voting turnout and also Texas would gain the reputation of becoming one of the two states that allow prisoners to vote while in prison.

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With having a background already on the idea of what the government interest served by disenfranchising felons. The definition of disenfranchising felons is basically taking away their rights to votes. George Will first starts talking about how people that may have made by chooses when they were younger, have turned it around but since for example, he stated in Florida people that have been convicted have been disgraced because of their past. He uses the example of Desmond Meade that turned his life around trying to paint the picture of someone that was involved in drugs and what not having that one accident or being in a “bummy path of life”. “He is a graduate of Florida International University law school but cannot vote in his home state

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A finding from a study done by the Bureau of Justice Statistics shows that 67.8 percent of ex-convicts were rearrested. Two-thirds of them spent their time in prison waiting for the release, only to go back into that dirty old cell again. Why don’t they try to get a real job, earn their own living and cherish the second chance we grant them. Let’s step down from the moral high ground for a second. Often released prisoners lack the skills and knowledge to keep up with the pace of society.

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Felons should not have the privilege of voting taken away after being convicted of a felony. Felons should be allowed to vote during and after the prison term. For numerous years, the U.S. Justice Department has been advocating states to reject laws that prevent felons from voting (Mauer, von Spakvosky , “Should Felons Be Able to Vote?”) Laws that prevent felons from voting have been found fair. Most states have adopted voting

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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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Voting should be an guarantee for every citizen of the United States of America, and having to go through the forms of Voter Suppression shouldn’t be a option. Voting is a element in life that should be offered to people with the requirements, and every vote counts. As Barack Obama once said, “ Change will not come if we wait for some other person or some other time. We are the ones we've been waiting for. We are the change that we

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Freedom stands now because of the millions who died for it. Because of the countless many who were willing to defy unjust control. Compulsory voting would make America fall, slowly and surely. To avoid this fate, citizens can work together and work hard to cross out this looming issue, work hard to be yourself a hero, and work to keep America

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Zeal Often confused with courage ,according to Merriam- Webster's’ Dictionary, zeal is “A strong feeling of interest and enthusiasm that makes someone very eager or determined to do something”. William Shakespeare is a famous composer, but not many people know that he showcased zeal in his everyday life. As a young boy William lived in a nice neighborhood, where his father would soon become mayor of. Living with a wealthy family William was bound to have big dreams. As William entered his teenage years he wanted to become a teacher or a person of law, but his father had failed and his family went bankrupt.

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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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Throughout the recent years the majority of the able voting population are exercising their privilege to vote. Even during the presidential elections the voter turnout rate was 50% or less than that. The act of voting should be a personal responsibility of every citizen meaning it should be a obligation. But to specify on this statement, it should not lawfully required to vote because people also have the right not to vote too (and it would be weakening personal liberties) , but it should be a personal responsibility for citizens if they are to complain about how the government run rather than every citizen. A personal responsibility is when we are the cause of our own actions.

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The right to vote was a privilege given to only a particular group of people in the past. The right to participate in the judicial system to some is an honor. This process allows people to voice and chose who they want in office or what issue they want to support. Voter Id laws are incorporated into our society as a form of control in order to keep people silent. Voter id laws are under controversy because the law is viewed as being discriminatory against minorities.

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