Should Convicted Felons Have The Right to Vote - Assignment Example

It is the duty of the society to halt the downward march to destruction and inspire one to the upward march of moral elevation to make one a worthy individual and citizen. The conclusion is obvious. The convicted felons need to be given the right to vote. Most of the crimes are generally committed at the spur of the moment, when one loses the balance of mind. He suffers through the period of conviction and the prison has never been a pleasant place for any individual, notwithstanding the amenities provided.

“The legal authority of a State to revoke an inmate’s voting rights is based upon the Fourteenth Amendment. State laws on allowing convicted felons to participate in elections vary widely. Forty-eight states deny the vote to at least some felons; only Vermont and Maine let felons vote. Thirty-three states withhold the right to vote from those on parole. Eight deny felons the vote for life, unless they petition to have their rights restored, such as Alabama and Florida. New Jersey and Connecticut allow former felons to vote once they have completed parole.

Nationally, about 4.2 million convicted felons cannot vote.”(Stukes, 2010) A straightforward answer cannot be provided to the question whether the convicted felons need to be given the right to vote. The immediate reaction is what sort of a felon? All felons are not alike and the gravity of their crimes is not alike. The 14th amendment specifically permits states to disfranchise citizens convicted of participation in rebellion, or other crime. How an enemy of the country be given the right to vote?

Legally, the federal government may not infringe upon the authority of the state to give and not to give the voting rights to prison inmates and former felons. The spirit of the American Constitution is, it swears by democracy. But party politics has engulfed the issue to a great extent. This appeals to the Democrats because a large number of felons are African-Americans, the