Felony disenfranchisement

Felon disenfranchisement has been in practice for centuries, dating back to colonial times (Carter 45). It has been a very controversial topic that is still debated today due to morals and legal understandings. President Jimmy Carter defined disenfranchisement as denying a person the right to vote. Therefore, felon disenfranchisement refers to depriving felons their right to vote, at least temporarily (Carter 45). The United States Constitution and its interpretation has been a key aspect that…

from voting. In 1976, 1.2 million people living in America lost their right to vote due to felony convictions as of April 2014 the number has gone up to 6 million. (Spates 14) Flashback to 1800, there was no states that prohibited felons from voting. (Holding) The reality is people of color are directly affected by these…

misconceptions of the Latino people. Morin outlined laws and public policies that negatively impact Latinos in the United States: 1. Felony disenfranchisement laws: which were enacted at the end of the Civil War, these laws basically exclude convicted felons from voting. Consequently, “a study of 10 states concluded that "Latinos have a disproportionately higher rate of disenfranchisement compared to their presence in the voting population (Morin, p.2). Freese…

United States rely more on the federal government than those who are housed by it, fed by it, employed by it, and barred from voting to change it. These people are incarcerated felons, and their disenfranchisement is a barrier to democracy and dialogue in America. According to The Sentencing Project, felony convictions have stripped 6.1 million Americans of the right to vote, enough to swing the popular vote in five of the last seven presidential elections. Of those disenfranchised, 35% are…

Jonathan Purtle: “Felon Disenfranchisement in the United States: A Health Equity Perspective.” Purtle uses ecosocial theory to determine two key implications of felon disenfranchisement policy. Ecosocial theory is the inextricable connection between social and biological factors that impact health. The health of a people is the sum of not only their biological makeup, but also their socioeconomic status and the impact of various public policies. From this perspective, Purtle first examines the…

Felons are citizens and should be allowed to vote because the right to vote is proclaimed constitutionally to citizens at the age of 18. Many people are convicted of felonies- which inhibits their right to vote. However, decisions made in elections affect everyone, thus the opinions and concerns of felons should be counted as a fundamental right. Just because they are criminals, that does not take away their citizenship and basic rights as an American. Also, not all felons that are convicted are…

Disenfranchisement is defined as White southern Democrats devising a variety of techniques in the late nineteenth and early twentieth century’s to prevent Black people from voting. Those techniques included literacy tests, poll taxes, and the grandfather clause as well as intimidation and violence. The definition of disenfranchisement is located in Chapter 14 on page 295. Disenfranchisement in America today correlates where voting is one of the most fundamental rights for every American citizen,…

Over the past fifty years, the prison population in America has increased tremendously. Between 1985 and 2013 alone the prison population has increased 45.2 billion people. Over the last forty years, there has been a 500% increase in the population. The increase in prison population has caused problems with overcrowding in the jails. The number of people in prison and jails for drug-related offenses between 1980 and 2014 has increased by 447,500 individuals. Since they have such harsh laws…

Firstly, felons can't have a second chance when there's disenfranchisement happening. For example, Michael B, Mukasey a journalist for Wall Street reports, “felon disenfranchisement laws actually promote recidivism” (Mukasey). Thus, changing laws to make them more fair could change numbers in recidivism. Secondly, giving them more rights can help them get a second chance…

trustworthy enough to be given the right to right; this very notion is preposterous; they have been given second chance at life for this reason (Chapman 2006). Thirdly, prohibiting ex-convicts from voting upon being released from prison causes felon disenfranchisement: a term that describes the alienation of felons from the political process. This alienation in turn causes a reduction their political involvement when they are finally given the opportunity to be involved (Cardinale 2016). If…