Voting rights for felons

I just learned that almost all US states have restrictions on felons being able to vote. State laws can determine who gets "disenfranchised" meaning that they no longer have a right to vote. Some states say only those currently incarcerated are prohibited, some include those on parole, others include people on probation, and there are quite a few that say no previously convicted felon can vote. There are only two states that don't have any restrictions, Maine and Vermont.

This got me thinking, why shouldn't they be allowed to vote? They have a vested interest in who's in charge of their country since, you know, they live in it. Maybe the candidates have differing views on prisoners rights, shouldn't prisoners get to vote when the results of the votes can directly influence their lives?

Also, isn't voting something that we as a country are trying to encourage more people to do? Why would we say "Everyone should vote!" and then turn around and say "Except you, you can't vote." It doesn't make sense. In Florida alone there are over 1.5 million people who aren't allowed to vote. See the interactive map here .

This, to me, is just another example of a country that treats their criminals as second class citizens if they get treated like a citizen at all. Maybe if we treat them better they'll be more likely to reform? Maybe if we had treated them better from the beginning they wouldn't have been criminals?

What are your thoughts?

Personally, I think that restriction of voting rights should be limited to those in prison or parole.

As for the part about second class citizen and treatment. You are right about if people were treated better overall then criminal behavior might be curbed and that reform might be higher. However, I think that is something we cannot every truly do, that's too close to total equality, humans just can't do it. For me there are bigger issue than felons being able to vote that lead to repeat and cyclical offenders. Things like education, employment, and social advancement are key in my mind.

I'm more interested in the unfortunate fact that African Americans and Latinos are so overrepresented in prisons. Were I a conspiracy theorist, I'd think that your facts mixed with the racial imbalance in jails means the government wanted certain races and economic classes away from the polls. But the government can't even balance their checkbook, so I doubt organizing that's a feat they're capable of

And don't even get me started on "getting out the vote". If people don't want to vote because they're admittedly uneducated about it or just don't care, why encourage them to do it? They're going in there voting for names and hairstyles and who their mom voted for when they were kids. Do we really want that?

That is not uncommon here that inmates cannot vote in the Netherlands , the problem is that voting has to be in the public domain and as prisoners are locked up in a restricted area they can only vote by power of attorney. Are you sure the are not allowed to vote in US or is it the same problem that we have that voting has to be done in the public domain Goken ?

MartaLina wrote: That is not uncommon here that inmates cannot vote in the Netherlands , the problem is that voting has to be in the public domain and as prisoners are locked up in a restricted area they can only vote by power of attorney. Are you sure the are not allowed to vote in US or is it the same problem that we have that voting has to be done in the public domain Goken ?

No Marta, Goken is correct. Felons specifically are prohibited from voting once they are given a felon status. The line of thought is that, in order to be a felon, they must have committed either an extremely violent crime or some other sort of extreme crime and that, by that point, they've begun to "relinquish their rights", due to the fact that they cannot follow the law. Voting isn't the only things felons can't do though. They can't serve on a jury, or in the military. They can't serve in any public profession, for that matter... EMT, police, local offices. They'll never be able to run for a political office. But they also lose benefits too. Never mind the fact that it's far harder for them to get a job. He's also right that it varies from state to state, including everything I just stated.

Avalonslight wrote:

MartaLina wrote: That is not uncommon here that inmates cannot vote in the Netherlands , the problem is that voting has to be in the public domain and as prisoners are locked up in a restricted area they can only vote by power of attorney. Are you sure the are not allowed to vote in US or is it the same problem that we have that voting has to be done in the public domain Goken ?

No Marta, Goken is correct. Felons specifically are prohibited from voting once they are given a felon status. The line of thought is that, in order to be a felon, they must have committed either an extremely violent crime or some other sort of extreme crime and that, by that point, they've begun to "relinquish their rights", due to the fact that they cannot follow the law. Voting isn't the only things felons can't do though. They can't serve on a jury, or in the military. They can't serve in any public profession, for that matter... EMT, police, local offices. They'll never be able to run for a political office. But they also lose benefits too. Never mind the fact that it's far harder for them to get a job. He's also right that it varies from state to state, including everything I just stated.

Thank you Avalon , that makes sense , i agree with most of that , but it says that because they cannot uphold the law they are not allowed to vote for them , and that is because of fear that they gain influence on laws i guess? Its much the same here , apart from the fact that they can vote by power of attornay. Its very difficult to return back into society when you did your time.

My country (the UK) does not allow voting for people in prison, though they can vote once released.

My thoughts are that if you are participating in society you should be allowed to vote. This means I believe that even prisoners should vote as, whether the rest of us like it or not, they are still affected by laws that the government makes. Since there are some particularly vulnerable inmates (women with children in prison for example), they should be able to have a say and since I feel that prison should be about rehabilitation more than punishment, what better way to help prisoners see they are a part of society by encouraging them to vote?

It seems a pretty crappy thing that once someone leaves prison in places in the US, supposedly a rehabilitated citizen, then saying 'sorry, you're not quite as equal as everyone else, tough luck'. But then, from all that I've read about the prison system in the USA, it doesn't surprise me that once released former felons are then stood on by the government... it's little wonder people return to crime.

In this case I think the US is violating its own constitutions. The fact is that we were never intended to lose rights permanently In fact the court is not allowed to deprive us of liberty or property without trial, yet the constitution never mentions the rights protected in it. However I believe the founding fathers understood prison by nature MUST lead to the loss of some rights such as the right to travel where you please or own a weapon etc. However once you are out your full rights as a person should be restored or why are we letting you out?

For me, this issue always comes down to rights versus responsibilities. The U.S. Constitution guarantees certain rights as do many other federal, state and local laws, but these same laws demand a certain level of personal responsibility be taken by citizens.

For example, as a U.S. citizen I have a right to bear arms. Along with this right comes the implied responsibility that I will bear those arms with proper cause and due consideration. I believe I shouldn't just walk around with an assault rifle at City Hall on a Tuesday because I feel like it. Most of us would agree that this is irresponsible behavior, so we pass more specific laws limiting this right. Most of us consider defending ourselves and our families against violence on our own property is a responsible use of this right, so it continues to be legal.

If we are to make the assumption that a felon was convicted of a crime after a fair trial (and that's a HUGE assumption here in the States), it would be fair to say that they have failed to meet the level of personal responsibility expected of citizens who enjoy the guaranteed rights that come with citizenship. They have demonstrated a lack of respect or acknowledgment of the laws the rest of us have democratically (supposedly) agreed to follow. At this point, I believe it is fair for the rest of us to prevent a felon's further participation in the process.

This opinion, of course, is based on the legal system functioning fairly which in some cases it does not. It also fails to answer the question of whether any revoked rights should ever be returned to a felon and under what circumstances. I don't have a solution to these problems.

What reason does a person have to respect the law when they get no input on the content of the law? This only makes more problems.