C. Former Confederates and African American defenders had opposing views on new black legislators. Former Confederates, such as English clergyman J.W. Leigh, felt as though blacks were prematurely given the right to vote. Leigh argued that because blacks received franchise only five years after the abolition of slavery, they were incapable and easily influenced by radical republicans. To back his claim, Leigh cited the passing of a large grant for the Alabama and Chattanooga Railway. He states that the grant’s purpose was to give money to corrupt carpetbaggers, and that the blacks helped passed the bill after being bribed. Leigh also insinuates that having blacks in office meant that they dominated the votes and silenced whites, doing…
Roughly, about thirty percent of the US adult population is a convicted felon. Forty-eight of fifty states restrict these criminals' voting rights; that is the equivalent to millions of unheard voices. Even though many say that offenders should not be trusted with political matters, they are still human beings and they deserve their unalienable rights. They are human beings, regardless of the crime they have committed and like everyone else, they deserve to improve their lifestyle. For this reason, and many others, the US government should remove voting restrictions on convicted felons.…
Revoking convicted felon’s rights to vote has been an issue at hand in politics since the beginning of our nation. Edward Fesser published an article in the magazine titled City Journal called “Should Felons Vote?” In the article he is arguing against the views of Democrats and their motives for restoring convicted felons voting rights. He says their motives are to expand their chances in winning an election. Edward Fesser’s argument is weak because he fails to provide substantial evidence supporting his arguments on the disenfranchisement of felons.…
I think a convicted felon should have the right to vote after they spend their sentence in prison and finish with parole. I will give you three reasons why they should. My first reason is they are citizens like us and they might not be guilty. My second reason is ever though there not out and free they do watch TV to see what’s going on. My final reason is if it was polices officer or a famous person they still are aloud. The next paragraph I will tell you about my first reason.…
Over the course of American history, the waves of social revolution have repeatedly beaten back the injustices of man to form the society we inhabit today. Literature has proven to be a powerful tool to churn these waves of innovation, and it is in the significant literary pieces of a time that historians can identify the heart of important movements. One notable text is Susan B. Anthony’s “Women’s Right to Vote” written during the 19th century Women’s Suffrage movement. Utilizing her leadership position in this age of American feminism, Anthony wrote “Women’s Right to Vote” to expose the injustice women faced in being restricted from voting; in doing so, she demonstrated intellect and reason amid prejudices of female incompetency. Among her persuasive calls for justice, Anthony’s use of logical appeal is revealed in her reference to the United States’ Declaration of Independence, her perspective on legal pronouns, and her examination of the Fourteenth and Fifteenth amendments.…
This large group of people would sway the votes for the worse. “In 2010 an estimated 5.85 million people in the United States (2.5% of the nation's voting age population, excluding DC) could not vote due to a felony conviction”(Number). A group as large as this could possibly turn the tide for elections. If all of these criminals were in California which is the most populous state, they would make up about 7% of that state. What kind of examples would this set for children if the United States restored this right to vote? “In 2004, one in every 31 adults [U.S.] was under correctional supervision, compared to one in 88 in 1980.”(Votes). Numbers like these are shocking and mortifying. Take into account that this means that the same people who have killed, raped, or robbed someone could have the fate of America resting in their hands.…
As a college student who doesn’t have a felony on their record and is not familiar with the climax of the justices’ system and voting laws I have taken it upon myself to do the research on the topic. In doing so I have come to the conclusion that felons should be allowed to vote and their vote could and would have made major differences in past elections. Estimated about 5.85 million people in the United States could not vote due to a felony conviction an increase from the 2004 total of 5.26 million and the highest number since at least 1960.12 most extreme states restrict voting rights even after a person has served his or her prison sentence and is no longer on probation or parole; such individuals in those states make up approximately 45 percent of the entire disenfranchised population. How can we claim, a great nation, that we’re all together, when we single out…
With many of the prisoners being democrats, this takes away from all their votes with a mass of the people not being allowed to vote. A good example of this could be the election in 2004 with George Bush, a republican, who was able to win the presidential election with influence from his brother in Florida to get him an extra electoral vote which counts more than the popular vote. Felon’s rights are already limited with many restrictions being put on them due to the government not having any trust over them and still see them as criminals. A list of restrictions including traveling abroad, owning a gun, many employment opportunities as well as other privileges citizens are able to use such as applying for grants, living in public housing, SSI and food stamps. If a felon is a parent as well, their parental rights are diminished because in any case the judge will award the other parent custody due to the conviction. With all this, this conviction will be on the person’s personal…
The number of Americans who cannot vote because they have been convicted of a felon continues to rise. According to the National institute of justice about a quarter of felons are in prison, but the rest have completed their sentences and are on probation or parole. The only reason not to let them vote is to stigmatize them or to continue punishing them. Voting would help ex felons re-engage with society by showing them that they have equal importance in the society, for example ,it shows that their opinion is just as important as anyone else's. Also, this may not always be a good thing. Not all ex felons can be trusted and not all ex felons judgment and credibility can be trusted.…
You are correct, when you said that’ it is up to the states to restore the rights of a felon” I did my research and found out that depending on the state, the crime that was committed and the time that has passed since finishing the sentence, some ex-felons can have their voting rights restored. I even found out that there are two states that allow felons to vote while in prison (Vermont and Maine), I have to admit that I was not expecting that one.…
The citizens’ opinions ranged between supporting and not supporting. The citizens’ opinions fell in-between those two. 9.9 percent thought felons should never lose their right to vote. 31.6 percent thought they should only lose the right while they are incarcerated. 5.0 percent thought felons should lose their right while on parole or probation. 35.2 percent thought the right to vote should be lost while incarcerated and on parole or probation. Overall, 81.7 percent of the respondents did not support the permanent elimination of voting rights. The respondents’ supported having felons voting rights restored at some point (Pinaire et al., 2002). When the authors asked the respondents why they wanted permanent or temporary voting restrictions, 32.7 percent said “felons have proven that they should not be treated as citizens” (Pinaire et al., 2002, 1541). The authors were surprised that 31.1 percent had chosen none of the above/other reason. Pinaire et al. (2002) believe there must have been some other reason the respondents wanted temporary or permanent voting restrictions. A little more than half strongly or somewhat agreed to have felons rights restored after completing their sentence. About 44.2 percent somewhat or strongly disagreed to the restoration of…
Felons should not have the right to vote while in prison, but when they get out of prison they should be able to apply for restitution, so that they can get their rights back. No-one that is guilty of any crime should be allowed to vote until they have finished serving their punishment. If you have done something to wrong the country than one of the punishment should be losing the privilege to vote, because by voting people make decisions for the country. People who can’t be trusted should definitely not be trusted by the country shouldn’t be making decisions for the country.…
Although, people think that not letting ex-felons to vote is unconstitutional and unfair, ex-felons should not have the right to vote as soon as they leave prison, but should undergo a program that helps those who want to change so that they could potentially gain their rights back. Ex-felons should not have the right to vote after they get out of prison because the highest authority, the president and high government officials, expressed no interest in changing the law so it seems like it is here to stay. If people can't meet the standard of society and the law, they shouldn’t be able to vote. If ex-felons couldn’t follow the law, they can't make the law for everyone else.…
Felon Voting faces a serious problem that needs to be solved: When felons are released from prison, many of them want to start a new life. However, this is difficult when they've lost simple rights such as voting. I believe felons should be allowed to vote once they’ve served their time. Studies show that felon voting contributes to lower crime rate. Studies also show that racial discrimination is a leading cause of felony disenfranchisement.…
Other arguments of the advocates to the voting rights of felons include the data from a study suggesting that former offenders who vote are less likely to return to jail. Others believe that without the right to vote, “… may actually contribute to recidivism by keeping ex-offenders and their families disengaged from the civic mainstream.” (Feser). This seems like a good point but…