The New Fight

In practice, this possibility is usually illusory. When seeking to have the vote restored, few have the financial and political resources needed to succeed. The change for restoration was currently urged by Governor of Florida Charlie Crist, a Republican, “I believe in simple human justice and that when somebody has paid their debt to society, it is paid in full,” stated Crist.

So, what could we do to promote change? By educating, the African American community on the importance of voting and restoring their right to vote after incarceration is finished could promote change. African Americans could stress the importance of this vital issue to all politicians who claim to want and need their vote in any upcoming elections. Presently African Americans could write their governors and local politicians requesting automatic restoration after incarceration is complete or another alternative that would simplify the restoration process for former convicted felons.

On a political level, congress could limit the denial of voting rights to those actually serving prison sentences, not those on probation, parole, or former convicted felons. Congress could establish a connection between the severity of a crime and denial of voting rights, so that only the worst offenders lose the right to vote. Finally, congress could allow a panel of ones peers in having the discretion in taking away voting right.

Nevertheless, creating a system under which those who have completed their obligation of rehabilitation are notified encouraged, and helped throughout the process of restoring their right to vote would be extremely adequate. Voting is a right that defines all citizens. Those individuals who have paid their debt to society should have their right to vote restored immediately after their time is severed.

Martin Luther King once wrote, “No nation can long continue to flourish or to find its way to a better society while it allows any one of its citizens to be denied the right to participate in the most fundamental of all privileges of democracy — the right to vote.” At the time – 1965 – King was referring to the need for a law that would ensure the right of all African Americans to vote. Unfortunately this can still be applied today, People wake up!