With elections weeks away, state officials admitted improperly removing some people from voter rolls. Local advocates say the state is doing too little, too late to remedy the harm.
I generally agree with the idea that one you've paid your debt to society, you should have the right to vote reinstated. However, if the felony you committed is murder, I'm not sure you should get to vote again considering you removed a voter (or voters) from the system. I don't know that you should get to vote in their place.
I'll give you an upvote because you provided an honest opinion, but I can't help but disagree with you.
First of all, because I think felons should be allowed to vote even while they are imprisoned, regardless of whether they've paid their debt. I think of it as a basic right, and I think that removing that right even further removes them from society, when we need to rehabilitate them.
Second, what you're saying doesn't make sense to me. Have they paid their debt to society or not? How can you continue officially punishing a person who has paid their debt, and treat them as a second class citizen?
Third, on a practical note, you're assuming that the murderer and the victim's votes would cancel each other out, but people tend to murder other people that they know, which means that they'll also tend to vote similarly. So, actually, if you remove the murderer's ability to vote, for all practical purposes, you're doubling the voting effect of the murder.
I generally agree with the idea that one you've paid your debt to society, you should have the right to vote reinstated. However, if the felony you committed is murder, I'm not sure you should get to vote again considering you removed a voter (or voters) from the system. I don't know that you should get to vote in their place.
I'll give you an upvote because you provided an honest opinion, but I can't help but disagree with you.
First of all, because I think felons should be allowed to vote even while they are imprisoned, regardless of whether they've paid their debt. I think of it as a basic right, and I think that removing that right even further removes them from society, when we need to rehabilitate them.
Second, what you're saying doesn't make sense to me. Have they paid their debt to society or not? How can you continue officially punishing a person who has paid their debt, and treat them as a second class citizen?
Third, on a practical note, you're assuming that the murderer and the victim's votes would cancel each other out, but people tend to murder other people that they know, which means that they'll also tend to vote similarly. So, actually, if you remove the murderer's ability to vote, for all practical purposes, you're doubling the voting effect of the murder.