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

I will post my constructive then go over my opponents side of the flow. I negate the resolution. Resolved: In a democratic society, felons ought to retain the right to vote. Counter-Definitions A Democratic Society – An ideal society which provides its' citizens equal representation. Society- A community of people, as of state, nation, or locality, with common cultures, traditions, and interests. (Black's Law Dictionary) Felony- A violation of the Social Contract, which results in the felon being put in jail or being put to death. Social Contract – The gathering of the rights society values the most, which is guaranteed under the Social Contract. In addition, the rights that are sacrificed to protect these rights. Citizen- A member of society who has abided by the Social Contract. Vote- A member of democratic society taking advantage of their right to equal representation. Observation 1.It must be looked at since the resolution states, and it is defined, that what separates a democratic society from any other type of society, is the right to equal representation. 2.It must be looked at since the resolution states, and it is defined, that there is currently no society that is truly democratic, because they do not provide equal representation. Value and Value Criterion My value for this round will be safety. Safety is the protection of rights that the society values the most. This must be the highest value, because a society must protect what it values the most for the members of society. A democratic society in this case values the right to equal representation the most. My value criterion for this round will be the Democratic Social Contract. The Social Contract must be looked at since it best protects the rights the society values the most. Also, it is inherently democratic because it is developed and agreed on by majority of society. In this case, it will provide the best protection for the right to equal representation, which is valued the most by the democratic society. The negative will show how the felons have violated the Social Contract and must lose their right to equal representation. Contention One: Felon's Have Violated the Social Contract The felons have violated the social contract of a democratic society. A democratic society must operate under the Social Contract. The Social Contract provides the best protection for the rights the society values the most. It shows the government's obligations to you, and your obligations to the government. The Social Contract states that people gain rights from a government but in turn have to subject to the civil law and political authority of a society. The only right guaranteed to be gained in a democratic society is the right to equal representation. However, even though this is the highest valued right, a democratic society should provide other rights, such as the right to liberty and life under the social contract. It applies in this case because the felon's have violated social contract by committing a felony. The breaking of the social contract allows the government to take away the right that they value the most. In this case, the right that is valued the most is right to equal representation. The felons have shown that they are a danger to the society, and the rights it values the most. Therefore in violating the Social Contract, the felon has forfeited this right that the society values the most, which is protected under the Social Contract. If the felon in this case has violated the social contract, they have violated safety as well. This way the negative better upholds safety because they are upholding the social contract by taking away the felons' participation in civil society. It also upholds the Social Contract, because they have taken away the rights guaranteed by the Social Contract from those that have broken it. Contention Two: Felons' rights are inherently taken away According to the resolution, rights are inherently taken away by the democratic society. The two rights that are being mentioned in this case are the right to life and liberty. These two are natural rights people are endowed with according to John Locke. Even though a democratic society does not necessarily have to provide these rights are some that a democratic society should uphold. By putting you in jail or to death, either are results of a felony according to the definition, the society is taking away either the natural right to life or liberty. It is already showing through this that the society can take away rights. Therefore, the society has the authority to take away the right that it values the most, the right to equal representation. As stated previously, the society protects the rights it values the most. It is already protecting the right to life and liberty, so it must protect the right that it sets it apart from other societies, which is the right to equal representation. Roger Clegg, JD, further elaborates on this topic by saying, ""It makes no sense. We incarcerate people and we take away their right to run their own lives and leave them with the ability to influence how we run our lives?" This shows that if democratic societies already take away the right liberty, they must in turn take away the right to equal representation as well. This way the negative better upholds safety, because they show how rights are already taken away for the means of safety. It also upholds the Social Contract, because the negative upholds the Social Contract by taking away the rights it guarantees from those who violate it. I do not need to go over my opponents definitions since I provided counter definitions. My value for this round should be prefered over democracy, because the responsibility of any government is to provide safety. That is the basis that a government is formed, because it is to get out of a state of anarchy and to protect the consensus of rights provided by the government. Therefore, safety should be used. As well, Social Contract should be used because it best protects the rights of the people, and better upholds safety. Equality cannot be used because felons are not equal for they committed a felony. Since you are going by my standards for the round and the fact that a felony violates the social contract, you must automatically negate. As well, my opponents example comes from non legit democratic society since they do not provide equal representation, so that is void. Again, the social status argument is non relevant because no matter your status you receive equal application of rights provided, and they still performed a wrong act. Next, my opponent by citing the constitution fails to realize in Richardson vs. Ramirez the Supreme Court deemed felon disenfranchisement constitutional. Again, my opponent by citing the United States is not providing equality because they do not allow children or the incompetent to vote, which violates equality. Not enough characters to get everything.