Advantages And Disadvantages Of Ex-Felons

In the United States, the criminal justice system disproportionately incarcerates minorities. This disproportionality creates an issue in voter representation; under the current law a convicted felon is not allowed to vote. If a significant number of citizens from a certain demographic are unable to vote, that weakens their ability to create change, or be accommodated via legislation. If I was to propose a policy that integrated ex-felons back into the voting population it would have minimal limitations and provisions, because I believe that just because you are a convicted criminal, does not mean you have a less valuable voice, or opinion. A policy that considers all citizens rather than a skewed electorate, will more adequately serve the country and those who are less privileged. As previously stated, I feel that a policy integrating criminals into the electorate should have minimal limitations, however, I do feel there is a need for certain provisions and limitations. The first limitation of the policy would be that if the ex-felon was convicted of a hate crime, felony rape, or first degree murder. Crimes of these
This over representation is a result of many factors, one being that there are more minority felons than white. Not only are the voices of the felons not heard due to current voting laws, but the lack of voters in the minority population due to felonies, consequently weakens the voice of those who can vote. The electorate being skewed in such a manner makes it more difficult for the needs of minorities to be heard in government, as well as creating a misrepresentation of the population in government. This lack of representation and responsiveness creates many issues within a government and society, such as distrust of the government or loss of hope in the youth. These types of issues create a divide in the society between different classes, and races; affecting the lives of every