The passages present arguments for and against voting rights for those convicted of a felony. Write a response analyzing the arguments in both passages and determining which argument is stronger. Use relevant and specific evidence from the passages to support your response. Take approximately 45 minutes to write your response. Be sure to plan, draft, and evaluate your writing.
Passage 1
Don't Disenfranchise Felons
As of 2010, an estimated 5.85 million U.S. citizens cannot vote because of a felony conviction. This is a horrific number, greater than the total population of Wisconsin. Twelve states deny voting rights to felons after prison, parole, and probation are over: Alabama, Arizona, Delaware, Florida, lowa, Kentucky, Mississippi, Nebraska, Nevada, Tennessee, Virginia, and Wyoming. The laws in these states need to be reformed. No citizen should be denied voting rights after completing their prison sentence. It creates an unjust, permanent restriction. Once a citizen has completed a sentence, that person's rights should be reinstated. The U.S. justice system is far from perfect. While racial minorities make up approximately 30% of the U.S. population, they comprise 60% of the prison population. Disenfranchisement laws denying felons voting rights unjustly target minorities. As the Washington Poststated in the editorial "A Lifetime Sentence for Felonies"(July 29 ,20 ), "In Virginia, Kentucky and Florida, felon disenfranchisement affects a staggering one in five African Americans." A prison sentence is a term of rehabilitation determined by a court. At the end of this term, a felon has paid the debt that society dictated. Denying civil rights after this term is unfair and undemocratic. It is demoralizing to former felons, who can no longer fully participate in democracy. Felony disenfranchisement laws should be overturned.
Passage 2
Let States Decide about Felony Voting Rights
Felony voting rights are governed by state laws, and each state should be allowed to determine the best policy. Two states have no restrictions, and even felons in prison can vote. Twelve states have at least some restrictions after parole and probation. The majority of states fall somewhere in between. In each state, the voters and lawmakers have made a determination of appropriate voting rights. Opponents of voting rights restriction often state that almost 6 million American felons do not have the right to vote, but in truth, almost half of those people are still in prison. Most Americans agree that it is not unjust for felony prisoners to lose voting rights while in prison or on parole. State laws reflect this reasoned belief. States that maintain voting restrictions after parole are not unreasonable. In the February, 2013 National Review article "Eric Holder's Call for Felon Reenfranchisement." Roger Clegg, JD stated: "The right to vote can be restored, but it should be done carefully, on a case-by-case basis, once a person has shown that he or she has really turned over a new leaf." The completion of a sentence is not the same as rehabilitation. It should not necessarily mean an automatic lifting of reasonable restrictions. A felon has shown criminal judgment, and that is a rational reason for restricting voting rights.
