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Disenfranchisement of ex-felons is the issue that has a great effect on society. It proves that our world is not perfect not only because some people commit crimes but also because our juridical system segregates the population and limits the rights of particular groups. In 2004, more than 4.5 million Americans were not allowed to vote because of the laws that prohibit people from convinced of a felony to vote. This number has increased greatly, and there were almost 6 million of individuals who lost their right to select state and country representatives. Of course, it seems to be decent to forbid imprisoned people to vote, but should it be applied to those who served their sentence and who are not on probation anymore? In the briefing paper of the current sentencing project, Chung (2015) underlined that “2.6 million people are disenfranchised in states that restrict voting rights even after completion of sentence”.
According to the previous researches, one of 13 African Americans has no possibility to vote under the mentioned restrictions. Such results prove that even though the population of the US consists of the representatives of different nations, whites have more rights to vote, and others just follow their will (Ochs, 2006).
The situation that occurs cannot be treated as advantageous, as it is likely to become a trigger for civil disorders. Many African Americans gather in groups that aim to stop discrimination and unequal treatment, which is tightly connected with the described issue. To improve the current state of society, a range of changes should be implemented. First of all, voting rights should be expanded so that ex-felons gain an opportunity to influence the situation in the country they live in. Some states have already considered this aspect, and, by 2010, about 800,000 individuals regained this right. Mainly, the implication of this change can be influenced by the attitudes of the general public as well as of the representatives of the legal system. The factors can also be politic and demographic ones. In this way, the number of people who do not have a right to vote, citizen ideology and political culture should be considered.
When bringing about a change, developmental theories can be applied in order to understand the issue better and make the process more efficient. Freud and Erikson underlined that childhood plays an important role in the development of the personality; the same thing can be applied to the changes. In this way, for the alteration to be a common practice for the whole country, it should be implemented when people are little. It proves that if the laws change, children will grow up with the belief that it is right that ex-felons can vote and will support this view. Piaget’s theory focuses on the way in which people think and adapt to the world around them.
Thus, the citizens tend to yield to the changes that are implemented (a new policy, in this case), and they accept new information. With the course of time, they get used to the alteration. Kohlberg paid attention to moral reasoning and stated that the authority has an immense impact on the human perception of right and wrong (Browne, 2001). In this way, society forms one’s ethics and can make others accept the idea of letting ex-felons voting.
Systems theory discusses social units as systems regarding their constituents and external environment as well as their influence (Boulding, 2004). Thus, it can be said that all issues that occur in society are triggered by some forces and have an impact on people. In this way, the successful implementation of a change should be not only conducted by one party but also supported by the individuals who exist in this environment. So Americans should influence their government and make it provide needed policies regarding the disenfranchisement of ex-felons. Then they should support the promotion of this change and prove that it is beneficial for different populations. Finally, it is vital to control the situation and make sure that new rights are not infringed. It is also important to ensure that the individuals realize why the alteration was needed and what benefits it brought, and communicate them to their children. Otherwise, people may return to previous practices.
When fostering and implementing the expansion of voter eligibility aimed to deal with the disenfranchisement of ex-felons, several opportunities and challenges might be encountered. First of all, the problem can be seen as in several states; people who committed crimes are not allowed to vote at all. The fact that the government’s views on the issue have not changed yet proves that they are rather conservative, and even the general public is not likely to promote alterations. Still, the majority of Americans are targeted at constant improvement and tends to influence the minds of others and provoke changes (Manza, Brooks, & Uggen, 2004). Various movements are organized to appeal to the government, and they often achieve success, which proves that the adoption of new policies should also be supported. Thus, people, the way they influence and interact with each other, turns out to have a double edge effect, so the right strategy defines success (Homan, 2015).
References
Boulding, E. (2004). General systems theory. E:CO, 6(1-2), 127-139. Web.
Browne, T. (2001). Human development theories. Futurics, 25(1-2), 50-71. Web.
Chung, J. (2015). The sentencing project. Web.
Homan, M. (2015). Promoting community change: Making it happen in the real world (6th ed.). Boston, MA: Cengage. Web.
Manza, J., Brooks, C., & Uggen, C. (2004). Public attitudes toward felon disenfranchisement in the United States. Public Opinion Quarterly, 68(2), 275-286. Web.
Ochs, H. (2006). “Colorblind” policy in black and white: Racial consequences of disenfranchisement policy. Policy Studies Journal, 34(1), 81-93. Web.
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