Yesterday an apparently landmark case was resolved in the UK which granted at least that the blanket prevention of prisoners from voting needs to be reviewed.
The deal seems to be that they are going to decide on some sort of benchmark beyond which one loses the franchise for the term of one’s sentence.
Now I don’t really have that much of a problem with convincted murderers being allowed to vote in elections because I don’t think they are any less qualified to vote than the average idiot. Most people haven’t a clue about why they vote the way they do from my experience of having asked an awful lot of them. Most of them are incapable of even completing a sentence in response to the question, let alone something that even in generous terms would qualify as an argument.
Personally I think one’s knowledge of history and ability to differentiate between candidates is more important than whether you have or haven’t been convicted of a crime. I favour tests for the vote and tests for elected leaders. In the case of leaders I’m all for polygraph tests live on TV, though I reckon some people (Chirac, for example) could lie and get away with it. We’ve all seen Basic Instinct. Or if we haven’t, we should have done.
I don’t agree I fail to see how a prisoner has the right to vote when they have shown their feeling towards the system by breaking the law in the first place (this is asumeing all in jail are guilty of the crimes they commited).
They are in jail to be removed from society and to be “rehabilitated”, if they need to be rehabilitated they are in no fit possistion to cast a vote in the running of a country of which they have defied the government.
Those in prison have abused there “freedom”, Its a punishment. All basic freedoms like that to vote should be removed.
The parliamentary system dictates how much wage you will recieve, so by stealing money you are saying you deserve more than you are being paid. An open act of rebellion against the government.
“Now I don’t really have that much of a problem with convincted murderers being allowed to vote in elections because I don’t think they are any less qualified to vote than the average idiot. Most people haven’t a clue about why they vote the way they do from my experience of having asked an awful lot of them. Most of them are incapable of even completing a sentence in response to the question, let alone something that even in generous terms would qualify as an argument.”
In my opinion, I think they should be able to vote. I found this article and thought it was interesting.
When I consider the point mentioned here above- I really don’t see why they shouldn’t. Election results are frustrating to me as an American because I think too many impressionable people are influenced by campaign ads and religious views- most miss the whole point. If stupid people are allowed to vote, then why not angry and violent people too!?
So we allow criminals in prison to vote… Then what? During the next election they will increase the comfort of prisons to get the votes. It will only work for the criminals advantage. I believe once they are allowed back into society they should be able to vote, but while behind bars, to protect innocent people from their criminal acts, they should not be able to say who runs the country.
Whats the point in locking them up to protect society and to rehabilitate if we are only goin to give them a right to say how the country should be run!
I knew you wouldn’t be able to resist the squid joke. I thought as I wrote this ‘Imp’s gonna have some fun with this one’
As to the actual question - why the heck shouldn’t convicted felons be allowed to vote? We let retards vote. We let idiots vote. We even let unconvincted felons vote.
I’m not in the slightest bit convinced that everyone should vote, for reasons I’ve already stated. But I don’t see any good reason to stop a convicted mugger who has repented and been rehabilitated from voting.
Drug addicts on the other hand should be burned for fuel. And be allowed to vote.
because voting is a priviledge for the law abiding citizenry… does it sound harsh to remove choice from a felon? that’s exactly what happens when they are incarcerated… should they have priviledge automatically restored upon release? that is arguable, but I don’t think it is just in all or most instances…
right… if they make white smoke, we get a new pope too…
I’ve no problem with taking choice away from felons, but the choice to vote… I dunno.
I suppose I’m thinking of those crimes that are committed due to stupidity, immaturity and the like. Those criminals can learn and realise their mistakes, and I don’t think disenfrachising them for life is appropriate. Of course if someone is real scum with no concern for other people then they probably wouldn’t vote anyway.
Of course. Personally I don’t think we get a new pope anywhere near often enough.
Um, I don’t think they’re retards anymore…I think they’re mentally challenged now. Anyway, since most of the guys in office are retards, too, that seems appropriate. In America I think there’s a good rationale for currently incarcerated felons to be denied the right to vote, but who the fuck knows why the Brits do what they do.
Sometimes they are, never said they weren’t. I said there was a rationale for it, that’s all. The point is that the US constitution is different from that of ol’ Brittania.
If you mean for felons still serving their time, then I agree. Now if you mean for felons who are done serving their time, I would have to disagree. Once their sentence is carried out and done, they should have their rights back.
Perhaps, perhaps not. I never said there was a good rationale, I just said there was one.
Still, on this one I agree with you. Many “felons” in the US are merely victims of the irrational Witch Hunt…er, War On Drugs. An action is arbitrarily designated a crime, then you’re rights are abridged for the rest of your life. Yep, it sucks, to be sure.
I’ve always thought that replacing swear words with philosophers names would be a lovely rhetorical affectation. You could shout ‘Hume!’ when you hit your thumb with the hammer, ‘Nietzsche’ when you’ve burnt the fishsticks and ‘Aristotle’ when you are giving your spouse a dressing-down.
“The the Aristotle do you think you are doing, coming in at this hour?”
Anyway, since most of the guys in office are retards, too, that seems appropriate. In America I think there’s a good rationale for currently incarcerated felons to be denied the right to vote, but who the fuck knows why the Brits do what they do. 
