Hate to say it. But I think felons should be allowed to vote. I know they normally vote for democrats. Thats because they are overwhelmingly black. But I don’t care. One person, one vote. And taking away the right to vote, allows the government too much room for abuse.
Voting is as much a right as it is a responsibility. So you are taking away something society relies on, not the individual voter.
They forfeited that right when they were convicted and sentenced. As for the “they’ve paid their debt to society” BS, yes they have but permanent forfeiture of certain rights is part of the “debt.”
I think a prior year’s W2 or a social security statement should be the prerequisite to vote. In no other facet of society are non-stakeholders given a vote over the direction of an organization.
Ideally, we’d have no income tax but just a national sales tax, and I’d be fine with allowing everyone, including freed felons, to vote since everyone will be a stakeholder.
If we’re going to do that, then they should be fully restored or the rights denial should have a limit of 5 or 10 years, etc...
Society needs a baseline to judge this, and there should be some “extra credit” available to buy down time. That extra effort should be the type of things that really demonstrate you want back into the “normal society”.
There also should be certain crimes of violence and deviance or treachery that place one in a situation where societal redemption is close to or totally impossible.
> Hate to say it. But I think felons should be allowed to vote. <
That’s a bold statement on a conservative website, poinq. And I pretty much agree with you. Once a felon is out of prison, AND has completed his parole time, he should get his rights back. All of his rights. Many states follow that rule now.
14th Amendment, Section 2 allows states to deny the right to vote for “participation in rebellion, or other crime”