Should ex-felons be able to vote?

[Katherine Brengle]

Poll question: Should ex-felons be able to vote?

I argue that according to the 15th Amendment:

Section. 1. The right of citizens of the United States to vote shall not be denied or abridged by the United States or by any State on account of race, color, or previous condition of servitude.

Section. 2. The Congress shall have power to enforce this article by appropriate legislation.

yes, they should.

Someone who has served his/her time in prison and been released has his/her citizenship rights restored, and the state has no reasonable excuse for disenfranchising these Americans.

DU: Do you think ex-convicts should be able to vote in this country? Please explain your reasoning--I am sure we have a variety of reasons.

[saltpoint]

1. If John Negroponte can be appointed to governmental offices and

serve without scrutiny of his role in Central American death squads, I believe felons should be allowed to vote for the men and women who appoint him.

Yes.

[BOSSHOG]

2. I find this another interesting way

for "conservatives" to make asses of themselves. It is okay with them for felons to serve in high government posts (in fact they strongly support and vote for them) but it is not okay for felons to vote.

[roseBudd]

3. felon disenfranchisement is part of Jim Crow and GOP voter suppression

[bullimiami]

4. ex felons are given national security clearance and government jobs.

I think that is wrong.

but they should be allowed to vote.

[kestrel91316]

5. YES - either a person HAS paid their debt to society, or they HAVEN'T -

The ONLY exception, IMHO, should be if that person has a felony conviction involving denial of voting rights to another person. Then in the interests of poetic justice, it shold be a lifetime ban on voting in all 50 states.

[ThomWV]

6. ?So Should Felons Be Jailed Until They Are Ready To Vote Correctly?

Think about that one as a conditon of release.

[HamdenRice]

7. Origins of felon disenfranchisement: preventing black people from voting

There was a long article in Vanity Fair about this a few years back on this issue. The origins of felon disenfranchisement are in the post Reconstruction era. Southern states did not want African Americans to vote. They also routinely convicted blacks of absurd crimes, such as assaulting (looking at) white women. So they came up with the idea of disenfranchising felons.

Florida 2000 shows that although modernized, the underlying purpose is still the same.

That's be best reasons for not disenfranchising felons.

[lostnfound]

8. It's okay for them to program the counting of votes, but not to cast one..

??
I'm thinking of that VP at ES&S or Diebold -- was it Jeff Dean -- who was convicted of felony fraud where he stole people's money by using highly sophisticated knowledge of computer systems, and was forbidden to work in jobs related to counting of money...
so he got a job helping the RW steal elections.

[goclark]

9. They know not to allow it because

the population is made up of too many Minorities that may vote for Democrats.

They don't care one little bit about the Constitution!

I recall an ex felon telling me before the 04 election that he wanted to vote,he was close to tears.

He said, " My parole officer can decide AFTER the election that I am free to exercise my right to vote again."

They had "postponed" his date until January 05.

That is but one example. He told me that happens all the time, they extend the period so they can't vote.

[blondeatlast]

10. Considering that so very many are in for what should be relatively minor

drug crimes especially. Mind that I personally have NEVER used an illegal substance, but I consider our "illegal"" drug policy a major waste of resources.

I sincerely doubt that we can predict that they will vote overwhelmingly one way or the other anyway.

[madrchsod]

11. they have paid their debt to society

it`s as fuck`n simple as that....

[Evergreen Emerald]

12. Why not? Current felons run the country

[0007]

13. John Negroponte is a convicted Iran/Contra felon and he heads

the National Intelligence, over the FBI and the CIA.

[Orsino]

14. Sure. How are we supposed to reform the prison system...

...without hearing from anyone who's been through it?

[mcscajun]

15. If an ex-con cannot successfully re-enter life with all their rights,

then rehabilitation has no point, and recidivism is the likely outcome.

[stillcool]

16. A major problem I have....

is the self-righteousness of my fellow human beings....that so few can empathize, or see the cause and effect in life's drama. I can not imagine what lives these people have lived, where they've never experienced in themselves behavior that is unbecoming, irrational, or desperate. That they have gone through life without learning the painful lessons of being human, is very disturbing.