|
Disenfranchised felon populations (an
estimated 5.26
million people in 2004
who may not vote in federal, state, or local elections due to current of former criminal convictions) may be large enough to sway the outcome of
some close elections, if those individuals had the legal ability to vote. The
2008 national election is approaching, and felon voting laws, which vary from
state to state (from lifetime voting bans in 10 states to permitting felons to vote while in prison in Maine and Vermont), are being challenged
at city, state, federal and international levels. With few organizations
exploring this controversy, we opted to invest our resources so the issue
could be more widely debated. |
| PRO:
Some proponents
believe the legal ability to vote should not be tied to moral or ethical actions,
and even people convicted of serious crimes should be allowed to vote. Some
claim that felons who have paid their debt to society by concluding their
sentences should have all of their rights and privileges restored,
including voting. They believe that efforts to block ex-felons from voting
are unfair, undemocratic, and often politically or racially
motivated. |
CON: Some
opponents believe people who have committed felony-level crimes should not help make laws
for others. They find that
felon voting restrictions are consistent with other voting restrictions such as age,
residency, sanity, etc., and consistent with other felon restrictions such
as no guns for violent offenders and no sex offenders
near schools. Many claim Democrats care about this topic because felons do not
usually vote for Republicans. |
.org