Shouldn't prisoners and felons have the right to vote; since, how the country is ran affects them.?

Question

How the country is ran determines how they will live and whether or not they will be able to stay out of legal problems. Most of them are in jail because of their living conditions out side of jail, which boils down to financial problems that cause mental problems; both of which are not being attended. They have not lost the right to live, then they should have the right to vote.

Answer 1

I believe everyone 18 and over should have the right to vote. To disenfranchise large numbers of minorities and poor people is a prime example of a country on its way to becoming a Plutocracy -- Government by a small and powerful elite. If the average American cannot make peaceful changes to their government, violent change becomes the only recourse, other than political and economic slavery.

Answer 2

I know I was taught that if I wanted to vote, I needed to be sure I didn't do anything to go to jail. I am tired of people blaming the living conditions on some peoples blatant abandonment of law. Growing up in a poor home did not cause me to start smoking pot. Getting beat up every week did not cause me to join a gang. I got an education, I SERVED my country. I made tough choices, but everyone is taught what is acceptable in society. Depending on the crime the judicial system is not going to throw the book at 1st time offenders. More than likely if they did not kill somebody or point a weapon at somebody a misdemeanor will be on their record, and they can still vote. If they decide to commit a serious infraction then they have decided to live outside of our societies rules, so why should society allow them to participate. They committed a CRIME most likely against another person or group of people. I bet if they stopped crying about their wants, and start thinking about other peoples welfare the crimes they committed would not have been committed in the first place.

Answer 3

Why would you want people that have shown they cannot live within the rules of society having a hand in electing who will make and inforce the rules in society? There are many reasons besides jail that should deter people from committing felonies and losing the right to vote is one of them. In most states, they also lose the right to legally own a gun and we've all seen questions on employment applications regarding felony convictions. There's more to doing a crime than just doing the time. Rightly so.

Answer 4

They had a right to vote before they went to jail, so they had a chance to make a difference about how the country was run at that point in time. Then, they made a decision that was against the law and went to jail for that. If they did not want to lose their right to vote, then they should not have broken the law.

Besides, do you think guys like this should be voting?

http://news.yahoo.com/photos/ss/1756/im:/070625/480/890c9b4d3be6468b948fce1c4b9f18c6;_ylt=Ar1obi7MVZjkKEeaNaztOG9saMYA

Answer 5

In a lot of States including Illinois,

a felon is allowed to vote

the only people that are barred from voting are the incarcerated

Answer 6

No, did they have the right to commit a crime? And most are not there because of living conditions. They all knew right from wrong. To hell with them. They probably have such disregard for society they didn't even register.

Answer 7

No they should not have the "right" to vote, voting is a privilege that many people take for granted. If your going to break the law and end up in jail, you should not have the right to vote, you lose that right as soon as you break the law. If someone is concerned about how a vote will affect their life they should consider this before they break the law.

Answer 8

Oh, please, the answer is simple. NO!. They're in jail because they broke the law. They're not there due to living conditions, etc. And, yes, by their actions, they have lost the right to live freely in society and enjoy the same rights as law abiding citizens..

Answer 9

48 states and the District of Columbia prohibit inmates from voting while incarcerated for a felony offense.
• Only two states - Maine and Vermont - permit inmates to vote.
• 35 states prohibit felons from voting while they are on parole and 30 of these states exclude felony probationers as well.
• Two states deny the right to vote to all ex-offenders who have completed their sentences. Nine others disenfranchise certain categories of ex-offenders and/or permit application for restoration of rights for specified offenses after a waiting period (e.g., five years in Delaware and Wyoming, and two years in Nebraska).
• Each state has developed its own process of restoring voting rights to ex-offenders but most of these restoration processes are so cumbersome that few ex-offenders are able to take advantage of them.

An estimated 5.3 million Americans, or one in forty-one adults, have currently or permanently lost their voting rights as a result of a felony conviction.
• 1.4 million African American men, or 13% of black men, are disenfranchised, a rate seven times the national average.
• An estimated 676,730 women are currently ineligible to vote as a result of a felony conviction.
• More than 2 million1 white Americans (Hispanic and non-Hispanic)2 are disenfranchised.
• In five states that deny the vote to ex-offenders, one in four black men is permanently disenfranchised.
• Given current rates of incarceration, three in ten of the next generation of black men can expect to be disenfranchised at some point in their lifetime. In states that disenfranchise ex-offenders, as many as 40% of black men may permanently lose their right to vote.
• 2.1 million disenfranchised persons are ex-offenders who have completed their sentences. The state of Florida had an estimated 960,000 ex-felons who were unable to vote in the 2004 presidential election.

Answer 10

Yeah, but when it comes down to it, we're all alone in the world, we all have to be responsible for ourselves, and we all make the choice to be criminals or not.

Some people live in bad situations but don't become criminals. So why should people who turn criminal be given the same rights as the people who resist the call of criminality?

Kinda like when my mom says she doesn't know how to be a good parent because she was abused as a child, so she can't be held responsible for abusing me.

Horsesh!t!!! Abuse does not lead directly to abuse! Criminal situations don't lead to criminals. If some people make it through OK, then good for them. They get to vote.

I admit that it sucks that people turn to criminal acts out of desperation. But the fact remains that we all have a choice, and though desperate situations may explain their choices, it's no excuse. As criminals, they've waived their right to make decisions because they've waived their responsibility as upstanding citizens.

You're taking the idea of feeling sorry for criminals waaayyy too far. Voting is a privilege that should be revoked if you can't be a responsible citizen.