Every American who wants to vote, should be able to. Even inmates should be allowed to take this path. It is the essence of civil society.But I'm not sure I agree. I believe all free citizens should be able to vote. This means ex-convicts, who have served time and have "repaid their debt to society" (whatever that means), should have voting rights restored. Some states do this already, but not all.
But when you're in prison, you don't have same rights as free people. That's the point of imprisonment! Yes, you should be treated humanely, but no, I don't think you should be electing officials to govern society. I'm not firm on this. This is my knee-jerk opinion.
What do you think?
Update: Since I composed this post, I had a very challenging conversation. Challenging meaning challenging the original thinking and pushing me to consider other ideas. I'm looking for the best way to compile Tweets to accurately portray what was discussed and the evolution of my thinking. More later.
I don't think inmates should have the right to vote. They have shown us that they already have made bad choices. Once they have served their time, it can be restored.
ReplyDeleteI agree with you, Nicole. We voters are not all on the same side of any issue, sometimes violently so. However, we assume that everyone is voting based on their view of the best interest of our society. Inmates have already demonstrated an altered view of how to behave within the boundaries of established law. Until they are "rehabilitated", we can assume that their vote may not be based on the best interest of the society that sent them to prison. Let's wait until the system "works" for them before restoring their right to vote on new law.
ReplyDeleteI'm not sure I totally understand what the right to vote has to do with imprisonment. Your right to freedom is taken away... the right the bear arms... I get that. But the right to choose the people that represent you and the nation?
ReplyDeleteI think the question really is, WHO benefits from former criminals NOT have the right to vote? I think the answers to that question may be way more revealing.
I'm not sure if you're not still looking for opinions until you can reformulate your thoughts. If you are, I apologize. If you're not, I'd like to offer my two cents.
ReplyDeleteOne issue that has to be taken into consideration in this discussion, is the reasons people are in jail. Suppose we can agree that certain people have so egregiously violated the social contract (perhaps through rape or murder or treason), so they shouldn't benefit from the guarantees it grants (like freedom and voting). But many prisoners aren't in jail for such things. Many, many prisoners are incarcerated for nonviolent drug crimes or nonviolent "public-order" offenses like prostitution or sodomy. And, particularly for drug crimes, the judicial system disproportionately convicts and imprisons minorities. The result is that minorities are being disproportionately disenfranchised in a failed attempt to deal with a medical/societal issue as a moral/justice issue.