Yahoo Answers is shutting down on May 4th, 2021 (Eastern Time) and beginning April 20th, 2021 (Eastern Time) the Yahoo Answers website will be in read-only mode. There will be no changes to other Yahoo properties or services, or your Yahoo account. You can find more information about the Yahoo Answers shutdown and how to download your data on this help page.

Do you think a prisoners right to vote should be automatically restored when sentence is completed?

How long are you expected to re-pay your debt to society? admittedly if you have did something that incurs fines etc. you should be made to pay and some crimes are so heinous that the rights should never be restored but how can you rehabilitate a prisoner, allow them to learn skills for a job and most companies will not hire them and there rights are not restored allowing them the right to vote in a so called free society. Many states do not restore these rights automatically (Florida being one of them) Georgia has a first time felon law whereas if its your first time in prison your record is sealed unless you commit more crimes. I'm interested in reading others views on this.

7 Answers

Relevance
  • Anonymous
    1 decade ago
    Favorite Answer

    On completion of their jail term they are said to be reformed..so they are back to being what they were before imprisonment..its only fair that ALL their rights are given back.

    Secondly i think it would go a long way in helping them fit in society and reduce resistance by society .

  • 1 decade ago

    No! I think it should be left up to the individual States.

    The United States is virtually the only industrialized country that denies former prisoners the vote, though the rules vary by state. In Maine and Vermont, convicts can vote even when behind bars. In 34 states, felons are not allowed to vote until they leave parole. Maryland and Arizona permanently disqualify two-time felons; Washington bans felons convicted before 1984, and Tennessee bans felons convicted before 1986. And in 10 states, if you commit a single felony you are essentially walled off on Election Day until you die.

    True, denying felons the right to vote after they have served their sentences and done their time runs against both the idea that people can redeem themselves and one of the nation's most important principles, the right to choose who governs you.

    Nevertheless, the law-abiding citizens also have rights that must be recognized.

    Advocates usually argue from moral grounds, beginning that voting is actually a privilege not a right. Next, they argue that people who have broken the laws shouldn't be involved in making them, and that ex-felons will vote in ways that harm society and influence criminal justice policy for the worse.

    Whether these are viable reasons or not, it's the will of the people that must count the most in this matter.That is why I believe that it should be left up to the individual States.

  • 1 decade ago

    If you've been a convicted felon, there are still some things in life that will be different forever even after you leave prison.

    The socialists are very fond of giving felons voting rights, but your mainstream americans are not, because a person that's committed, and been convicted of a felony has, through their actions, at least once in their life said that they really don't beleive in the american legal system, and that by giving such persons voting rights, you're then letting them help influence the forward course of the country. Do YOU want someone voting that, by their actions, basically has said that they believe that multiple DUI's are basically OK, or that running someone over with your car, or shooting someone, or assaulting someone, is an acceptable way of living your life?

    Once you've been convicted of a felony, your life is different.

    Deal with it.

  • 1 decade ago

    I know that the State of Texas makes the offenders attend a class to reintegrate them into society before they are released from prison. An offender even has the option of furthering their education while incarcerated in a Texas Prison.

  • How do you think about the answers? You can sign in to vote the answer.
  • erke
    Lv 4
    4 years ago

    No,they lose that precise whilst they destroy the regulation.even with the incontrovertible fact that as quickly as their debt to society is paid they might desire to get fix of their balloting rights.Their human rights in or out of penal complex.in case you think of of all of the prisoners incarcerated in this u . s . a . they might make up a great balloting block. The irony is that the politicians they are able to't vote for are each from time to time extra of a criminal than those in penal complex.quite a few have been interior the information recently. incredibly tax cheats and pay for play you recognize adult adult males that get caught and nonetheless can vote and have quite good legal experts. Heck a number of them are legal experts.it is democracy.

  • 1 decade ago

    Sure, just make sure criminals have the option to undergo a civics education class before we release them. Once you're readmitted as a citizen, you should be entitled to all of your rights. Otherwise, we'd live in a multi-class society.

  • 1 decade ago

    yes he/she should be given the chance to reform

Still have questions? Get your answers by asking now.