Opinion: United States would benefit by extending voting rights to people in prison
As the United States prides itself on being a beacon of democracy, it’s hard to imagine that people are still denied the right to vote. While the fight for voting rights for Black Americans has been ongoing for generations, a different group is often left out of the conversation: people in prison.
North Carolina took a huge step forward when it granted people the right to vote as soon as they are released from prison. Still, we can go one step further, which Congressional Democrats are attempting to do with new legislation. Extending voting rights to people who are incarcerated in prisons might be controversial at first, but it’s worth considering the potential benefits of doing so.
Let's start the conversation with why we even take away the right to vote when you’re imprisoned. Other than the argument that we have always done it that way (which is never a good argument), one might say it's because if you commit a crime, you lose your liberty and place in society, and therefore the rights free people experience. It is essential to recognize that people in prison are still citizens of the United States with certain inalienable rights. The right to vote is a fundamental aspect of citizenship, and denying it undermines the principles of democracy we hold so dear. When we take those rights away, we essentially say they are no longer citizens, and their voices do not matter. And this is simply not true.
We must also recognize that people in prison still contribute in meaningful ways to the society we all live in. They manufacture products that feed into a multibillion dollar industry. If you have ever been to an office party, there is a big chance the linen came from Oriental Trading Company and was cleaned and packaged by someone in prison. They also create impactful media (because they still have the right to free speech), such as Ear Hustle, a podcast made in San Quentin State Prison with over 54 million downloads. Being a citizen should be enough reason to have the right to vote, but we can take it one step further and say that the people in prison still contribute to the society they live in while incarcerated.
On another note, denying people in prison the right to vote goes against the principles of rehabilitation and reintegration. Most people who are incarcerated eventually return to their communities, and the goal of our criminal justice system should be to reintegrate them as productive members of society. By allowing them to participate in the democratic process, we are giving them a stake in their communities, and we have seen how creating those connections reduces the likelihood of re-offending. Essentially, we will create a safer community if we let people keep their fundamental right to vote while in prison.
Finally, and potentially most importantly, extending voting rights to people in prison would make our democracy more representative and inclusive. Denying people in prison the right to vote disproportionately affects Black Americans, which we see done through other avenues such as gerrymandering and voter ID laws being enacted in North Carolina. The United States has a long history of systemic racism and discrimination, and the criminal justice system is no exception. Black Americans are more likely to be incarcerated than white Americans, and denying them the right to vote only perpetuates the cycle of disenfranchisement and oppression. All but two states and the District of Columbia (D.C.) take away the right to vote while a person is in prison, and most states also require people to complete parole and probation before being able to vote. By doing this, we exclude a significant portion of our population from the democratic process.
America prides itself on being a strong democracy and the leader of the Free World. Can we say that when we are treating our citizens unjustly? Our elected officials do not truly represent the people they serve if the people in their district do not have the right to vote. Extending voting rights to people in prison will give them a say in how their community is run and who serves them. It’s time to include people who are incarcerated in the conversation about voting rights and work towards a more inclusive and representative democracy.
More: Opinion: Too many Americans apathetic about voting: nearly 40% don't show up at polls
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Ava Peters lives in Asheville and is working toward her Master of Public Health degree at UNC Charlotte with a concentration in health policy and research focused on the justice system.
This article originally appeared on Asheville Citizen Times: Opinion: Extending voting rights to people in prison may have benefits
