Felon Voting Persuasive Speech

Felon Voting faces a serious problem that needs to be solved: When felons are released from prison, many of them want to start a new life. However, this is difficult when they've lost simple rights such as voting. I believe felons should be allowed to vote once they’ve served their time. Studies show that felon voting contributes to lower crime rate. Studies also show that racial discrimination is a leading cause of felony disenfranchisement.

According to Democracy’s Ghost – a show that focuses on felony disenfranchisement – they talk about how felons whose rights are restored are two-thirds less likely to return to prison. If simple rights such as voting can help rehabilitate felons, shouldn’t felons be allowed that right? In a quote from former President Obama on his speech in 2015, Remarks by the President at the NAACP Conference, “...we have to make sure that as they (felons) do their time and pay back their debt to society that we are increasing the possibility that they can turn their lives around…” In this speech, he talks about how he was going to visit a federal prison and addresses the issue on felon voting. I agree with Obama that once a felon has served their time, and they have reentered their communities, they should be able to vote.
And the current amount of these policies are too significant to ignore – it is also too unjust to tolerate. The impact of felony disenfranchisement on communities of color remains both needless and unacceptable. According to ProCon.org, “throughout America, 2.2 million black citizens – or nearly one in 13 African-American adults – are banned from voting because of these laws.” In three states (Florida, Kentucky, and Virginia) that ratio becomes one in five. This form of felony disenfranchisement turns into racial discrimination – which is