in America.........
Sol1821
Posts: 707 ✭✭
are your prisoners allowed to vote??
0
Sol1821
Posts: 707 ✭✭
Comments
As far as the answer, it depends on the state I think, but usually if you're convicted of a felony you lose that right.
In our political system, progressives (hard-left types, either socialist or very close to socialists) believe the law should be changed to allow voting (of course, they believe this will benefit politicians favorable to their views, else they wouldn't be pushing it). Most Liberals, Conservatives and the majority of independants are against such a change in the law, so it's really not gonna be changed anytime soon
It's never been an election issue since the majority of Americans are set against allowing felons to vote, and any politician who supports it would be committing career suicide
the concept is: if prison was fun and you were treated very well in it, then there is no deterrent to committing crimes by sending you there.
now, this is about as much though as i have put into this discussion or concept in my entire life so beyond that...
i got nothin.
That said, when you allow those who have disregarded the laws set in place by the citizens and their appointed representatives to have equal say in said laws it creates a system where the lunatics can essentially run the asylum. I don't find any of this funny. I would much rather felons be allowed to own firearms than to vote. I believe there is Constitutional basis for my stance as well, as it has been determined that the 2nd amendment acknowledges an individual right to bear arms. However, while the 15th and 19th assure that certain groups are not discriminated against in voting, there is no constitutional right to vote guaranteed. A right to vote is a right to govern essentially. Why allow those who have already rejected the authority of law to make law over law-abiding citizens.
1. If you have a violent convicted felon in your neighborhood----letting him own a gun is a lot more dangerous than going to a ballot box that there is a 50/50 chance any citizen wont go to anyway
2. The authority of law is violated daily by politicians, businesses, and citizens everywhere. The blanket "felony" conviction is a little bothersome to me. This puts the 18 year old who steals a really expensive car in the same category with the child rapist. Just saying.
We, as a collective society, have determined what constitutes an adult and what constitutes a felony. Adults make decisions to break the law and become felons. We can argue about what is worse, but it doesn't change this fact. They made a decision to risk giving up their liberties for their actions. The repercussions of commiting a felony shouldn't be a surprise to anyone. Ignorance of the law is not an affirmative defense. The "everyone is doing it" argument won't get someone out of a speeding ticket and it won't change my opinion on this topic.
Let me also edit to add, I don't necessarily have an issue with someone violating a law they feel is unjust or unconstitutional. However, it's big boy rules and if you get convicted you better be willing to accept the penalty. If folks want to live under rule of law, they can't pick and choose what laws are right and which ones are wrong. If everyone did this, then there would effectively be no laws.
If someone thinks that committing a felony and having their voting rights taken away is too much, they can 1) not commit the crime, or 2) move to another country.
Prisoner voting rights is a state issue, so the laws are different from state to state. Some states allow only individuals on probation and ex-felons to vote. Others allow individuals on parole, probation and ex-felons to vote. As of July 2007, fourteen states, eleven of them in the South, ban anyone with a felony conviction from voting for life, even after the person has served the sentence, while only two states, Maine and Vermont, allow incarcerated individuals to vote.
According to the Sentencing Project, 5.3 million Americans are denied the right to vote because of a felony conviction ("felony disenfranchisement"). The number of people disenfranchised amounts to approximately 2.42% of the otherwise-eligible voting population. This is in sharp contrast to European nations, like Norway, which allow ex-felons to vote after serving sentences and in some cases allow prisoners to vote. Prisoners have been allowed to vote in Canada since 2002.
The United States has a higher proportion of its population in prison than any other Western nation, and more than Russia or China. The dramatic rise in the rate of incarceration in the United States, a 500% increase from the 1970s to the 1990s due to criminalization of certain behaviors, strict sentencing guidelines and changes in philosophy, has vastly increased the number of people disfranchised because of the felon provisions. Given the prison populations, the effects have been most disadvantageous for minority and poor communities
the reason i asked was because the European lot which the uk is a part of had past a law allowing prisoners to vote, which we are supposed to be a part of, however our gov had a vote and decided to keep as it is with not allowing them to vote.
dunno whats going to happen now, seems a bit pointless being part of this European thing if we can just ignore it lol.
not that there's any point of being in it anyway lol but thats a different thread :P
I remember people freaking out in my home town over joining the EU thinking we would change to the euro and everyone one know the euro isn't real money!!!
Any way I just left the country when I could and am happier for it. I mean it hardly seems like a big deal when you look at other things going on. I mean Feck it. Its all going down the **** any way.