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

"A passive and ignorant citizenry will never create a sustainable world." Because I agree with philosopher Andrew Gaines, I affirm the resolution, resolved: In a democratic society, felons ought to retain the right to vote. Affirming achieves the value of equality, as defined by Merriam-Webster's Dictionary as "An ideal of uniformity in treatment or status by those in a position to affect either." The value equality is the only value for the round because equality was the foundation in creating democracy. The criterion that I will use to measure equality is fair representation. Voting is intended to represent all voters' voices. When we have fair representation among all classes, races, and sexes, we will achieve a greater amount of equality. I will offer the following definition from the Cambridge International Dictionary of English. Felon: a person who is guilty of a serious crime Contention 1: Communities suffer severely from felon disenfranchisement. Jeffrey Reiman, author of Liberal and Republican Arguments against the Disenfranchisement of Felons, "Research has shown that poor and/or non-white persons are more likely to be arrested, charged, convicted, and sentenced to prison than their wealthier, white, counterparts." This means that people of color are more likely to be arrested because they are of color than those who are white. Because of this, communities suffer greatly. According to Marc Mauer, who wrote Disenfranchising Felons Hurts Entire Communities "…The vast expansion of the prison apparatus over the last two decades is now hurting not only those incarcerated and their families, but their communities as well. Increasingly, the ability of these communities to gain political representation and influence – and therefore access to public resources is being thwarted by the American race to incarcerate. The structural racism in the system, an entrenched and often unconscious bias in law enforcement, has weakened the Black political power. This affects everything, from township supervisors to the president and all the policies that result." Project Vote, an organization dedicated to voter engagement and civic participation, reported, "When felons lose the right to vote, it weakens the political power of the entire neighborhood, including residents who have committed no crime." Communities do not have the voting power to make the changes needed in a community. On a larger scale, there is a huge discrepancy between the minorities and the wealthy white upper-class. "Political influence and access to resources are further hindered…urban areas suffer from the vicious cycle set in motion by the dramatically high rates of arrest and imprisonment of members and their communities," adds Mauer. In order to break this lewd cycle, felons, like any other group of people, must be granted the right to vote…not only for the felons, but also for the law-abiding citizens who have committed no crimes. Disenfranchisement does not value equality or justice in any manner when we are disenfranchising entire communities. Contention 2: To become a true democratic society all people have the right to vote. The key words of this resolution are "In a democratic society…" Aristotle, a renowned Greek philosopher, said, "If liberty and equality are chiefly to be found in democracy, they will be best attained when all persons alike share in the government to the utmost." This means that we must grant all people the ability to vote. We must allow not only men and women but also all ethnicities and most importantly, those who follow the law and those who have broken the law. If we refuse the vote of any class, race, sex, or age the ability to vote, we are no longer a "democratic society" because we cease to represent every person. A democratic society is "for the people, by the people." Refusing to allow any person the right to vote undermines the principles that have laid the foundation of democracy. Philosopher Ayn Rand said, "A majority has no right to take away the rights of a minority; the political function of rights is precisely to protect minorities form oppression by majorities." To take away the voice of any community weakens democracy severely. However, giving everyone the ability to vote will help create a better democratic society. Contention 3: Disenfranchisement is counterproductive. It is the goal of every prison system in a democratic society to evolve their prisoners from delinquents to productive members of society. Disenfranchisement seeks to undermine the efforts that prisons put in place. Prisons have chaplains, libraries, job assistance networks, and work release programs to teach their inmates about being good members of society. Matthew Cardinale, a graduate student in sociology at the University of California, believes that disenfranchisement will only undermine the prison's objectives. Cardinale wrote a report about poor and homeless people with felony convictions and found that disenfranchisement caused felons to feel they were "…only a fraction of a citizen." Felons also felt the sense of separation left little motivation to change their criminal behavior. This means that the delinquents, who are no longer true members of society, have little motivation to change their lives. This leaves the potential for crime to increase instead of decrease. Granting felons suffrage yields a positive effect. According to the Brennan Center for Justice, "[R]estoring the right to vote helps reintegrate people with criminal records into society and, by increasing voter participation, strengthens democracy." Civic participation instills in the offender feeling of belonging in the community and a sense of responsibility toward others. This connection to others reduces the criminal tendencies and helps restore former felons to contributing members of society. Furthermore, Jeff Manza and Christopher Uggen who are Associate Professors at Northwestern University, said, "Denying voting rights to ex-felons, or felons living in their communities on probation and parole, undermines their capacity to connect with the political system and may thereby increase their risk of recidivism." In conclusion, a true democratic society grants all people the right to vote, communities suffer severely from felon disenfranchisement and disenfranchisement is counterproductive to the prison's rehabilitative system. The goal of any democratic society is to achieve equality. In order for any democratic society to function, we need to have all voices represented. Thank you.