Facepunch Politics/Thoughts: Should Prisoners have the right to vote?

[Paul-Simon]

The numbers are still way off though. That's all I'm refuting.

[StrawberryClock]

Problem is then politicians could simply redefine treason to be much more broad and BAM. You still have the same issue you started with. Voting should be an inalienable right tbh.

[Zanibar]

This. Always remember anything you make as law can be used against you if it's retalitory or rights-stripping. Be very careful what you wish for.

[Tinter]

I think it should be an inalienable right and everyone should be allowed to vote. Not just talking about those who have served their sentence, but also those who are currently serving. I can see the issue with some mass murderer or bomber not going to vote for what's right, but just how much is that going to affect things? America doesn't even have a legalize-murder-party(Maybe you could argue in some way that the other party does). It's not much compared to the rabbit hole of allowing people's voting rights to be taken away in certain contexts. There's some 2 million people incarcerated in the US. That's a lot, they should be allowed to vote. It removes a lot of political interest in changing the prison system, since those involved lose their say.

The problem I have with them not having their rights is that you start drawing a line, and where should that line be? It's a complicated question and you don't gain much than if you were to just say everyone can vote.
Unless the argument is about certain troublesome prisoners that have to be isolated for whatever reason and thus it might not be practical, I don't see a good argument for not doing it. Even in that case I would probably just say that they should try harder to make it happen, because democracy is important.

[Maken]

If you have states are that are pro death penalty you could make the case that some states are pro murder.

[Riller]

I disagree. Even if they're initially punished for promoting their politics outside the established, accepted system; they should maintain their right to exercise their rights within the legal bounds of the system.