Our democracy is based on the tenets of representation, and every American citizen over the age of 18 has the right to vote. However, there are some necessary restrictions placed on groups that break the law, including the retraction of certain freedoms and privileges; convicted felons are one such group. Currently, individual states determine exactly how criminals will be dealt with as far as voting privileges. Some allow them to vote after being released from prison, while other states, such as Florida, revoke voting rights forever if a person is convicted of a felony.
Recently, the Canadian Supreme Court took a step toward giving voting rights to felons, both while in jail and after released. This is asinine, considering incarcerated felons are in prison because they have broken laws. Their lack of respect for the legal system, and the need to remove them from society altogether, makes it ridiculous for prisoners to seek representation by a government toward which they have shown no respect and have a say in laws they had no interest in abiding by.
While the new laws in Canada are too lenient, those in states such as Florida are too strict. More than 200,000 votes were purged during the 2000 presidential election because the law states that once convicted of a felony offence, a person loses his or her right to vote forever. Those votes accounted for nearly six percent of Florida's population.
The problem grows when looking at the number of minority voters, especially African-Americans, that are shut out of the applicable voting population. Nearly 31 percent of black males in Florida cannot vote because of prior convictions. With a number that high, it is hard to say that the needs of a community are being properly addressed and represented.
It is inherently essential in a democracy that every released prisoner is allowed to vote. Once a convicted felon has served his or her sentence, the debt to society has been paid. Upon being released, all previous freedoms and privileges are restored, and there is no reason to exclude voting from that group. As the United States' founding fathers once said, there can be "no taxation without representation." All American citizens required to pay taxes should be allowed to vote on how their money will be spent.
If America, or Canada, wants to restore the faith of the common people in their government, this is an easy place to start. If all free citizens are allowed to cast their ballots and show their support for political candidates, perhaps people will once again take an interest in voting and in assuming an active role in how their tax dollars are being spent.
The spirit of the times seems to be allowing our fundamental constitutional rights to be impeded on. Over the past year, we have forfeited some of our rights to due process, privacy and free speech. Our right to vote cannot follow along those lines; it must be extended to all free Americans.
