Should prisoners be allowed to vote?

I feel as though people who end up being convicted of crimes shouldn't really be able to vote. This is mainly due to the fact that because they are imprisoned already then why would it matter to them what happens to society.

It can be argued that they would want to vote because they may be getting released soon and it would matter to them.

What is your opinion on the matter?

I know I said I was staying away from debates but I will contribute to this one since I don't think it will be a very "intense" debate. I think that prisoners should be allowed to vote. They are still US citizens, and they have the same rights. Also, there are a lot of prisoners that were wrongly convicted. A third reason I say this is because some of the changes that a certain politician promises may affect them, such as changes to the prisons and stuff like that. So I still think that prisoners should be able to vote.

"This is mainly due to the fact that because they are imprisoned already then why would it matter to them what happens to society."

Public policy changes can have a serious effect on incarcerated persons. State budgets affect what sorts of programs the prisons will have available and their staff as well. Lawmakers can also make changes to prison safety regulations. Also, people vote to decide on the demolishing of old prisons and the construction of new ones. If you were serving time in a very crowded prison, you might want to have a say in that.

Most states allow convicted felons to vote (more details at that Wikipedia link), the only exceptions being Kentucky and Virginia. Some states, including my home state of Oregon, do not allow prisoners to vote while they are serving their sentence, but may vote as soon as their term is over. I don't completely agree with this, because there are some prisoners who are locked up for decades. They may have committed heinous crimes, but they are still humans and the right to have a voice in the electoral process is important, even for incarcerated persons, because it can change the course of their fate, both during and after their tenure in prison.

This is also an interesting issue for any politicians seeking re-election. Politicians often try to target certain groups of people to secure their vote. Hispanics, unemployed persons, laborers, and such... inmates are an important voting group too, where they are allowed to do so.

I read this in a magazine last night. I actually wasn't aware that in most states they are allowed to vote, but I see nothing wrong with it. As prisoners, they still have valid political beliefs. I definitely think they should be able to vote, but they shouldn't be obligated (so they can choose whether they want to or not).

I am surprised to hear that some states allow prisoners to vote and while there are other states don't allow them to vote. It is very interesting to hear about that.

Since the government plays a part in making changes in prisons and laws, I think that prisoners should be able to vote like every other citizen in America. They make up part of the population and some prisoners don't even belong in jails and could have been wrongly accused. Prisoners should be able to have the right to express on their votes. It is not right if we are voting for some sort of change if not everyone participates who is eligible to vote.