Nationally, about 5.85 million voting-age adults are denied the right to vote because of laws across many states that bar anyone who has been convicted of a felony from voting and serving on a jury. These kinds of laws are unparalleled in any other country in the world. It is rare, but not unheard of, to prohibit people who are serving prison time from voting. However, the United States is the only advanced nation that prohibits the formerly-incarcerated from exercising this fundamental right. If you think that this is just a drop in the bucket, you're dead wrong. Statistical analysis has shown that if ex-cons in Florida had been able to vote, the entire Bush v. Gore presidential election would have gone the other way. Those are structures that make enormous differences. 1 in 13 African-Americans cannot vote. This is called 'civic death,' and it has no proper validation. Why should we not permit ex-felons from voting. Are they not too a part of the United States? Are they not citizens? Do they not have a vested interest at stake during the electoral season? The only state taking an active part in reversing this injustice is California, which has begun restoring the voting rights of up to 60,000 people at a time. We can do more!
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AuthorWilliam has been an advocate for Prison Reform for about a year. He began getting involved with "Strong Returns: Millennial Prison Reform," and became the Georgia state captain. ArchivesCategories |