According to the Sentencing Project, an estimated 6.1 million Americans have lost their voting rights because of felony disenfranchisement laws as of 2016. Lawmakers are divided about its implications: what constitutes human rights and what justifies taking them away, especially given a justice system that disproportionately imprisons minorities and the poor?
Felons should be allowed to vote once they have served their sentence
Once a sentence has been served, felons should not have to be continually punished. All of their rights should be reinstated.
Felons have paid their debt to society
By serving their sentence, felons have repaid their debt to society. Disenfranchisement means they are continually punished.
Felons have not proven that they should be allowed to vote
By breaking the law, felons have proven that they should not have the right to vote. Felons should be required to exhibit good moral character before regaining their voting rights.
Felons should be able to vote even while in prison
All citizens should have the right to vote regardless of their circumstances.
The criminal justice system targets minorities
Felons are disproportionately comprised of minorities, particularly African-American men. Felony disenfranchisement is thus a legal means of suppressing their votes.
Although they are incarcerated, felons are still citizens of the United States. As citizens, they are entitled to voting rights. We should not take their rights away because of their incarceration.
All citizens have the right to vote. We should not deprive anyone, even prisoners, of this right, because it is fundamental to democracy. Disenfranchising certain people gives the government more room to deprive others of voting rights.
If a felon has not committed a major crime involving a human rights violation, they should be able to vote.
Felons who have not committed egregious crimes should be able to vote
If a person has not grievously violated someone else's rights, they should retain their right to vote. Disenfranchising people for minor felonies is excessive.
The Constitution leaves decisions about elections and voting regulations up to the states, so trying to reach a universal consensus on this issue is pointless.
States should make decisions about felony disenfranchisement independently
We should not try to arrive at a universal decision regarding voting laws or felony disenfranchisement because the Constitution originally left this decision up to the states.
