About 6.1 million Americans have been prohibited from voting. This is because in a few states in the U.S., people who have been convicted of a crime, aren’t allowed to vote for the rest of their lives. Florida is the most constricting state. When someone is convicted they immediately lose their ability to vote and must wait five years after finishing with parole and/or probation to even apply to regain their voting rights. About 1.5 million people in Florida are affected by this law. And, because the process to regain voting rights is so complicated, most felons in the state never get to cast another ballot. This is especially relevant because of the systematic incarceration of African Americans and other people of color in the United States, and has the potential to strongly affect the outcomes in the voting polls. This is particularly important in Florida, being a swing state. Now, the “voting restoration amendment” will be on the ballots in the upcoming election, meaning it could allow felons (except convicted murderers and sex offenders) to vote again. Do you believe previous convicts should maintain their right to vote after serving time? Or that they lost that privilege once they committed a crime?
Su - I do think that the previous convicts should maintain their right to vote after serving time however it should depend on severity of the crime they committed.
ReplyDeleteI had no idea that the process to regain voting rights was so complicated, and it is unfair that all crimes have the same wait time. Not all crimes should have the same weight, and felons should be able to recover after completing their time. - jerry
ReplyDeleteI agree that this amendment is important to pass, but I believe that it will have difficulty passing. Former convicts who have served time and parole are supposed to be reformed as our prison system is intended (but not necessarily in practice). Since they have already had their freedoms suspended as punishment for their crime, they should have their voting rights returned to them as they are reintroduced into society. However I doubt that this amendment will pass because the main affected group is unable to vote for it, and many will vote against it to make their own political interests easier to pass since the voting bloc that this allows to vote will most likely oppose them.
ReplyDeleteKevin
very good
ReplyDeleteI believe previous convicts should maintain their right to vote again because I don't believe people lose their rights because they committed a crime. I think while convicts are serving time, the right to vote can be suspended to a certain extent. But I think after they're done, they should have their full rights back. -jackie
ReplyDeletephax
ReplyDeleteI believe that convicts should maintain the right to vote after serving time because they are still apart of our society. When they committed a crime, they served time and lost the privilege to be free. Because of that they shouldn't also lose the privilege of voting.
ReplyDeleteYou forgot to mention that at the end of the whole process in Florida the final decision is decided by the current governor, Rick Scott, and a council, and that there are no laws dictating whether or not they let people vote again, its based entirely on their beliefs, which I believe is unconstitutional. -Peachey
ReplyDeleteI didn’t realize that aspect of it. But if that’s true then I agree that’s totally unconstitutional and is a perfect way of keeping people from ever voting.
Delete-Ana v
I think previous convicts should be allowed to vote because a lot of people go to prison for crimes they may not have committed and just because someone has broken the law or went to jail doesn't make them a bad person or unable to vote. A lot of people who do have the privilege can vote misinformed or not even take advantage or their voting rights. If someone is reformed after jail time, they should have another chance to reinsert themselves into society and prove that they can be an upstanding citizen.
ReplyDeleteI think they should allow felons to vote especially if they already paid for what they've done. They should have the right to choose the candidate they support.
ReplyDelete-Lina Ye
A very nice article.
ReplyDeleteI don't have any meaningful or valuable feedback but I have to comment anyway.
-Arnel Puducay
A very nice article.
ReplyDeleteI don't have any meaningful or valuable feedback but I have to comment anyway.
-Arnel Puducay
I think previous convicts should still have their right to vote after serving time. In my opinion, if jail time is temporary, I think the loss of privilege to vote should also be temporary, preferably while convicts are serving time. In a metaphorical sense, having the privilege to vote be taken away for life is similar to serving time for life, which is not the case. I think the process of regaining their voting rights being so complicated is not much of an issue, but the process should also be a sign of encouragement for the previous convicts to register to vote.
ReplyDeleteI believe that previous convicts should maintain their right to vote after serving time because like you said in your presentation, jail time is a time for rehabilitation and they're still a part of society.
ReplyDeleteAmber
DeleteWhether convicts maintain their right to vote depends on the crime that was committed. Prison is supposedly a place to reform but many convicts do relapse. I think whether they gain their right back should be case to case depending on severity.
ReplyDeleteI do believe that previous convicts should maintain their right to vote again and shouldn't lose their privilege to vote. Although, they should wait on when to vote depending on how serious their crime was.
ReplyDeleteIt should depend on the seriousness of the crime, whether people can vote again or not. If someone committed a serious crime, the "price" they have to pay is giving up their right to vote. They did that to themselves when they decided to disregard their humanity and harm society. People who committed other crimes however, should be allowed to get their right back because hopefully they've learned and they haven't done serious damage. The problem is deciding the definition of a serious or non-serious crime.
ReplyDelete-Angel Hermawan
I believe that once previous convicts have proven that they can follow the law as any other average citizen, should be allowed to vote. As they have returned to society and should have a say in its laws.
ReplyDelete-Andrea Montejo
I think the previous convicts should maintain their right to vote because they are reformed from the prison system. Voting is a fundamental right in a democratic society, and they have already served the time, so they have earned the right to vote again.
ReplyDelete-Donald Chung
I think that since they've already been punished by their time in prison, they shouldn't be further penalized after they have been released. They've paid their dues, and prison is already so dehumanizing that they shouldn't further have their human rights taken away. Felons are still people, and I think our state tends to want to forget that in favor of abusing and taking advantage of them.
ReplyDelete--Alessandra Squillace
Personally, I believe that once someone commits a crime and loses their right to vote, they should be able to later demonstrate their ability to act as a lawful citizen without having to go through a tedious process. If the person has truly learned a lesson from their wrongdoings, they should be able to have a second chance at possessing the right to vote. -Christian Wertman
ReplyDeleteI think that voting, like free speech, is a fundamental human right and that no person should be denied the right to have a say in our government. Also this law ends up targeting people of color which is discriminatory and means that a certain percentage of citizens will not be represented. Many people in jail are there for ridiculously small misdemeanors such as possession of marijuana. These convictions are already over the top for the size of the crime and don't mean that they are a bad person and should be denied the right to have a voice.
ReplyDelete-lea blk5
While giving ex-convicts the right to vote immediately after release would tip the balance in votes of swing states such as Florida, I still think they should go through the applying process to regain voting rights. Prison is supposed to offer convicts a chance to reflect on past actions and change into a better, more law abiding citizen (although it doesn’t always do a great job at that). Ex convicts should prove that they deserve their voting rights again as citizens willing to work with the system, and that they have changed for the best.
ReplyDeleteI think that convicts should lose their right to vote while serving their time, but get a one year probation on voting to ensure that they are law-abiding citizens. I also think that previous convicts should have programs on helping them regain their vote. Convicts regaining their right to vote won't greatly impact polls anyways, because there are more law-abiding citizens voting than the number of potential convicts that will vote, so I think the argument that convicts will make voting for the "right" laws harder isn't applicable. -EW
ReplyDeleteI think that since they have already served their time in prison, they have gained the right to vote back. It is wrong to take away their voting rights.
ReplyDeleteI believe previous convicts should maintain their right after serving time because some of them will learn from their mistakes and would want to make a good change in the community or benefit it. They shouldn't lose their privilege once they commit a crime because some of the crimes might have been mistakes. I believe that if the convict made a major crime such as murder, then the convict should be prevented from voting.
ReplyDeleteI agree because I think voting is a fundamental human right and that we shouldn't be denied. The government shouldn't restrict people with criminal background from voting.
ReplyDeletebtw is Carol from block 3
DeleteI believe that previous convicts should be able to vote after serving time. The idea of prison is meant to reform criminals so they are able to be better morally straight citizens once they reenter society. Also, by not allowing previous felons to vote, it will only serve to alienate them from society therefore reinforcing the idea that they will only be defined by a mistake they made in the past. This mindset could also serve to encourage them to commit a crime again.
ReplyDelete-Maddie Woo
I believe that previous convicts should regain the right to vote because after leaving prison, it is hard enough to re-enter society and succeed, so taking away one of their fundamental rights seems like it would make it even harder for them to thrive in their community.
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