In a democratic society, felons ought to retain the right to vote

Intro: Abraham Lincoln once defined America's democracy as a government "of the people, by the people, and for the people." The "people" in this quote refers to American Citizens. In this quote, it says that the citizens control the government. Since the way that the citizens control the government is by voting, I urge you to affirm the resolution: In a democratic society, felons ought to retain the right to vote. For clarity I would like to give the following definitions: Felon: a person who has committed a felony, which is a grave offense against society, such as murder or burglary, and commonly punished by imprisonment of more than a year, or death. Democratic Society: an organized group that is characterized by the principle of political or social equality Disenfranchisement: To deny the right to vote of a person. Vote: To express or signify will or choice in a matter Retain: To keep hold of Value: My value in this round will be a democracy. A democracy is a form of government in which the supreme power is held completely by the people under a free electoral system. This means that the people have all the power. My value criterion is maintaining equality. Equality is the idea that all people should be treated the same, with the same rights. Equality can achieve democracy because in an ideal democracy, the people hold the power, which is evenly distributed throughout the people. Thus, equality is the way to democracy. Body: 1)Since all citizens should vote, and all felons are citizens, therefore all felons should retain the right to vote. The 26th amendment of the Constitution states that all citizens over 18 years old have the right to vote. Also, the resolution says that "felons ought to retain the right to vote. This implies that voting is a right, because in order to retain something, it has to be already there. All felons are citizens. Just because they have committed a felony doesn't mean that they immediately lose citizenship. Disallowing the felon's right to vote would not be possible because denying the citizenship of a person just because he committed something as simple as burglary is completely insensible. This relates to my VC because it talks about voting. Equality means that everyone has equal rights, and since voting is a right, everyone should have equal rights to vote. 2)My second contention is that disallowing a felon to vote is showing prejudice towards the person. The 15th amendment of the US Constitution states, "The right of citizens of the United States to vote shall not be denied or abridged by the United States or by any State on account of race, color, or previous condition of servitude." Since statistics show that some types of people are more affected than others by felon disenfranchisement, which is prohibiting felons to vote, my contention relates to the resolution. a)Felon disenfranchisement is prejudiced on social classes. In a book review by Jason DeParle, which was published on the New York Times, he stated that, "everyone is affected, but not equally…Whites with only a high school education get locked up twenty times as often as those with college degrees." Since the wealth of a family will often determine whether their children go to college, and which college they will go to, felon disenfranchisement clearly discriminates against poorer families. b)Also, denying felons the right to vote makes them second class citizens. Since all US citizens should be equal, as shown in the Declaration of Independence "We hold these truths to be self-evident, that all men are created equal" No one can claim superiority over their own siblings. In the same way, no one can claim superiority in rights over any other person, because scientists have proven that all humans came from the same peoples. Since all humans are equal, there should not be second-class citizens, so felons should not be denied the right to vote. c)This supports equality, because prejudice is an example of inequality. By allowing felons to vote, we can maintain equality of the people, and thereby achieve democracy. 3)My third contention is that felony is an opinion. it is not always the same. Since the resolution does not state that the democracy has determined the person to be a felon, it is possible that a person who creates a democratic society can be a felon from a dictatorship that had happened before the democracy. a)This can be shown in the country of Maldives, in Southeast Asia, which is currently a democratic society. This democracy is currently headed by a man who was placed in house arrest for speaking out against a brutal government. This shows that although he was considered a felon to the previous government, he is now still part of a democratic society. b)Since the act of felony is an opinion, it will differ by people, and therefore, we have no right to disallow a felon to vote, when his act of felony might be anything from drug abuse to burglary to serial murder. Therefore, felon disenfranchisement is wrong because it restricts the rights of citizens. 4)My fourth contention is that voting can be for anything. It could be a vote for a preferred lunch, or a vote for the name of an adopted pet's name. Thus, felons should have the right to express their own feelings about a certain thing through voting. Conclusion: Disallowing felons to vote will lead to a downfall of a democracy. In the book, Democracy in America, by Alexis de Tocqueville, it states "Once a people begin to interfere with the voting qualification, one can be sure that sooner or later it will abolish it altogether. That is one of the most invariable rules of social behavior." This means that disallowing some types of people to vote can be continued to completely abolishing the concept of voting. Since a democracy needs voting to occur, disallowing felons to vote will eventually destroy the democracy. I would also like to remind you that all citizens have the right to vote, as determined in the Constitution, which is the basis of American government. Therefore, I urge to affirm the resolution: In a democratic society, felons should be allowed to vote. Thank You!