The United State’s history of black political oppression has been the catalyst to our current state of disenfranchisement. It wasn’t until 1965 when the Voting Rights Act was signed into law and removed the political disadvantages that muzzled upon the U.S minority vote. The United State’s use of literacy test and poll taxes has suppressed the rights of the minority vote in the past, and the use of the criminal justice and penitentiary systems currently suppresses the rights of the minority vote today.
Last week, Virginia became the third U.S state to grant the reinstatement of voting rights to former convicts when Governor Terry McAuliffe (D) signed the executive orders in Richmond. Virginia has joined Main and Vermont - which both house a combined minority population of 16%, 3% less than Virginia’s total minority population – efforts for equal voting rights regardless of race or social class.
Governor McAuliffe’s resolution to one of Virginia’s oldest laws has restored voting rights to more than 200,000 American citizens who have completed their parole and probation. This comes at a significant time of the 2016 Presidential Election because the frontrunners for the Democratic Party (Hilary Clinton and Bernie Sanders) are eagerly campaigning to win the minority vote in June.
The American Civil Liberties Union states, a patchwork of state laws disenfranchises about 5.85 million Americans. It is believed that the black population is sentenced more frequent and longer than the white population when committing similar crimes. This evidence supports the fact that the black population experiences a political disadvantage due to the lack of representation.
Those who disagree with Virginia's new policy believe "Governor McAuliffe doses not have the legal power to do what he proposes to do," adding that "he is acting in obvious bad faith." Virginia Delegate William J. “Bill” Howell (R) aggress that these former convicts deserve a second chance at becoming productive citizens but disagree that all former convicts deserve the reinstatement of their natural voting rights. Delegate Howell states, "policy should take into account the nature of the crimes committed, whether they have paid back their victims and the court system, and their willingness to serve as productive members of society.”
I believe that some former convicts deserve the reinstatement of their natural voting rights if they meet the criteria’s of holding a job for longer than 6 months, annually paying their taxes, and presents a clean criminal record after their probation. Governor McAuliffe has laid the foundation to unified voting rights within the United States by conveying empathy, one of the shared and highly praised qualities of several great leaders.
Indeed black votes do matter and even if they are or were convicts, they should also have the right to vote. Every vote counts in an election and convicts are also human and they have the right to fight for their rights despite what ever crime they committed. I really agree with your post.
ReplyDelete