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

Abraham Lincoln once defined America's democracy as a government "of the people, by the people, and for the people. " The context of this quote refers to American citizens. My value for this round will be equality, and my criterion will be democracy. This means that whoever allows for the most amount of democracy by way of equality, will win this round. This is a fair value and criterion because the resolution is talking about what is best for a democratic society, ergo my criterion; and equality is essential to a democracy, ergo my value. Definitions: Democracy (root of democratic) - is a government elected by the people. The people elect their representatives who sit in the legislature to make laws Society - a grouping of individuals which is characterized by common interests and may have distinctive culture and institutions. Felons - A person convicted of a serious criminal offense punishable by imprisonment exceeding one year. With that, I will uphold this resolution with three main contentions. The first will be what democracy is. The second contention will be what is happening in America and it's democracy. And my third contention will be why it is wrong to disallow felons the right to vote. I would also like to point out that the resolution refers to America seeing as in America (a democratic society) felons do not have the right to vote. Contention 1: A democracy, specifically the American democracy, has it's basis on the people voting. In order for a democracy to work, the people must vote. Recently though, there has been a trend especially in young people of not voting. This is why MTV and other major companies have worked on reaching young people and persuading them to vote. Also in America, felons are not allowed to vote. This is contrary to what a democracy is. A democracy relies on it's citizens voting. So this trend of not voting is desperately hurting America, as is not allowing felons the right to vote. But I will discuss this further in my contention three. Contention 2: Felons are being denied the right to vote. This is common knowledge and should not be argued. According to the Human Rights Watch, there are currently over 3.9 million U. S. citizens that do not have the right to vote. That is one percent of all the population in America. Contention 3. This is wrong. Alexis de Tocqueville, in his book Democracy In America, said "Once a people begins 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 argument is most commonly called the slippery slope argument. Once something has been done, it invariably leads to something bigger or in this case worse happening. The constitution goes into great detail regarding the right to vote. In it's fifteenth amendment, it says "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. " In it's nineteenth amendment, it says "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 sex. " In it's twenty-fourth amendment, it says "The right of citizens of the United States to vote in any primary or other election . . . shall not be denied or abridged . . . by reason of failure to pay any poll tax or other tax. " In it's twenty-sixth amendment, it says "The right of citizens of the United States, who are eighteen years of age or older, to vote, shall not be denied or abridged by the United States or by any state on account of age. " All of these are pointing to the conclusion that no person be denied the right to vote. No matter what their looks, age, or previous history has been. This should include felons. Felons live in America. They are affected by the same laws that you and I are affected by. If our legislators or president are going to do something that isn't fair in their eyes, they should have a say in that. Democratic principle says that all peoples should be able to vote. There are no limitations.