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5/31/2008
Vladamir's Voice
Hi everyone, my name is Vladimir Kovalik; I am a resident of Seattle and
am very interested in this cause. I think it is absolutely ridiculous that ex
convicts are deprived of their right
to vote. I recently wrote a term paper on
completely reforming the prison system because I feel it is detrimental to
society.
Regardless however, I think that everyone should have the right to vote as long as
they are a citizen of
the United States. For too long we have been denying these
people their basic right. If a citizen is expected to be completely
rehabilitated
and return as a productive member of society upon release from prison, why not give
them their right
to vote.
Some argue that the disenfranchisement of ex-cons is a deterrent to people who are
tempted to commit
a crime, but can you honestly believe that someone actually
considered this before committing a felony? This is one example
of the many flawed
arguments supporting disenfranchising ex-convicts. I also believe that the prison
system as a
whole is far mote damaging to its inmates than beneficial or providing
any sort of rehabilitation. I think if there is
one group of people who we should
ask about how our government is working, it is the ones who have suffered through
the penal system. The prison system does little to rehabilitate their inmates and
actually cuts funds from such programs,
perhaps the direct reason that two thirds
of inmates return to prison after being released.
Legally Speaking,
denying these people the right to vote is against the terms of
The Voting Rights Act. According to the United States
Court of Appeals for the 9th
Circuit, in the case of Farrakhan v. State of Washington, this was stated "Congress
amended Section 2 of the VRA in 1982 to relieve plaintiffs of the burden of proving
discriminatory intent. [...] As
a preliminary matter, we agree with the district
court that Plaintiff's claim of vote denial is cognizable under
Section 2 of the
VRA. Felon disenfranchisement is a voting qualification, and Section 2 is clear
that any voting
qualification that denies citizens the right to vote in a
discriminatory manner violates the VRA." This clearly
states that
disenfranchisement is discriminatory and unlawful. How can such an injustice
continue to be practiced?
I think that this is a wonderful organization and in support of an honorable cause.
Disenfranchisement is a discriminatory
and out of date practice that must be
abolished immediately. Thank you guys so much for making this blog available to
our
citizens and letting me put in my two cents.
Source
for Quotation
Farrakhan v. State of Washington (PDF)
United States Court of Appeals for the 9th Circuit
July
25, 2003
link
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