"Disenfranchisement" is a big word that refers to the fact that many felons have challenges restoring their right to vote after serving their time. Some states have waiting periods and other states have complicated appeal processes for those who have been convicted of a felony.
According to the National Conference of State Legislatures, laws restricting voting rights for felons affect millions of Americans. The laws for states vary greatly, but some felons are speaking up about the importance of this right in their rehabilitation.
VOTE NOW: Should Convicted Felons Be Allowed to Vote?
Here are six quotes by ex-offenders on the subject:
1. "There is enough discrimination against us, and feeling alienated leads to recidivism. I served my sentence. I paid my debt to society. Why am I still doing time?" - Perry Hopkins, convicted felon and current community organizer for Communities United, talking about voting rights in Maryland,
according to The Washington Post.
2. "I have a little past, but I'm mostly doing good out here. I have a daughter and I want to show her it’s good to get out here and vote. At the end of the day I’m out here doing good for my community, and voting is important to me." - Navell Gordon, felon and voting rights organizer for Neighborhoods Organizing for Change, talking about a push to restore felon voting rights in Minnesota,
reported by the Star Tribune.
3. "I was a part of the community, and yet I was separate. I wasn't a community member." Dexter Stanton who lost voting rights after a 2009 drunk driving felony conviction,
according to the SCTimes.
TELL US: How Do You Feel About Voting Rights for Convicted Felons?
4. "It was for sale of a schedule 2 substance under a half gram. The charge is what got me into college." Jonathan Reynolds, 21-year-old law student at the University of South Carolina and convicted felon who explains his support for a Rand Paul presidential bid in part because of his inability to vote after becoming a
felon, Bloomberg reports.
5. "I am a criminal justice educator, a Ph.D. candidate, an author, a national trainer and speaker, and most importantly, I am a taxpayer." - Jason Sole, felon who only spent one year in prison, but is under a 20 year sentence of probation talking about why he feels he should have the right to vote,
according to CBS Minnesota.
6. "Once a person has served their time, they should not be made to continue paying for their past mistakes." - Desmond Meade, president of the Florida Rights Restoration Coalition,
as reported in the Sun-Sentinel.
VOTE NOW: Do You Think Convicted Felons Should Be Allowed to Vote?
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