Convicted Felon Disenfranchisement
Voting rights for felons and ex-felons have gone through changes over the years. An estimated 5.85 million people (as of 2010) with a felony conviction are barred from voting in elections - a condition known as disenfranchisement.
According to the article from (newsmax.com) by Jerry Shaw posted in 2015 there are seven statistics about voter disenfranchisement for felons and ex-felons:
1. Voting disenfranchisement laws for felons exist in 48 states and the District of Columbia. Only Maine and Vermont allow voting privileges for felons, even when they are in prison.
2. Florida, Iowa, Kentucky and Virginia do not allow people with felony convictions to vote after completing their sentences. Voting may be restored with a pardon from the governor.
3. Most ex-felons in 38 states and the District of Columbia have their voting rights restored when they complete their sentences.
4. Kentucky became the first state to impose criminal disenfranchisement for those convicted of "high crimes and misdemeanors" in its state constitution in 1792.
5. Some 28 states passed new laws regarding felon voting rights between 1996 and 2008.
6. More than 5 million Americans (40%), have lost their voting rights currently or permanently because of felony convictions.
7. More African Americans (2 million or 7.7 %) than other populations lose their voting rights due to felony convictions compared to 1.8 percent of non-African Americans.
According to Robert F. McDonnell-governor of Virginia, believes that once an offender has fully paid his debt to society, he deserves a second chance. It is a mark of good government to restore felons' rights and provide them the opportunity to succeed and become law-abiding citizens again.
I agree to his words that every person who made a mistake deserves a second chance, otherwise what kind of society are we? We must give good examples as a society to those who made mistakes and have been...