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Kyara Broady Christen Seeley Ashirah Rollins Kenney Paul

History Benchmark Quarter 1 __Position Paper__ One of the most essential presidential elections is occurring here in the United States. Senators Barack Obama (democratic) and John McCain (republican) are running against each other for office. With the issues that are currently taking place here in the U.S., it is extremely important for everyone to get out there and vote on Election Day. Individuals that are at least 21 years of age must go out and vote for the candidate that bests fits our country.

In the United States there are an estimated 5.3 million Americans that are not able to vote because of past criminal convictions. Out of the estimated 5.3 million Americans that can’t vote, 13% of them are African American men. Felons should have the right to vote because at the end of the day, they are still citizens.

Yes, there are some individuals that were involved in some type of criminal activities in the past, but that shouldn’t affect their voting rights. Whether someone was convicted on drug or robbery charges it doesn’t matter. At the end of the day, those same felons are still citizens in the United States. Taking the wrong path once in their lives shouldn’t determine whether or not they have the right to vote in the future. Revoking felons’ rights to vote is a bit biased based on the situation. The only difference between a felon and a regular person is the fact that a felon committed a crime. Other than that, they are same person in a way. Felons should still be treated the same and given the same privileges as any other person would have. Voting is a fundamental thing that every individual should experience. It gives people a chance for their voices to be heard with the election. Whether you want to vote for Obama or McCain, it still involves you in some type of way.

5.3 million is a big number, one that could have a huge impact on the election in the United States. That is 5.3 million voices that can’t be heard because of some drug or gun charge that occurred in the past. As the government look at this number they should think about the different types of restrictions they have and try to change them.

__Rebuttal Paper__

**Many Americans are able to vote every 4 years to elect a new president to run the country. But there are many Americans that can’t vote for a numerous amount of reasons. One of the most popular reasons for this would be that there is a law saying that if you were convicted of a felony you not allowed voting. This is just morally wrong. Many agree with this, many don’t. Most people who believe that felons are not good enough to vote would say some quotes like the ones below, and the people who think that this is wrong would possibly respond like the following…**

//“Why should prisoners be allowed to vote? They did something horrible therefore they shouldn’t be treated like everyone else”.//

**American society is always saying how everyone should be treated equally and everyone should feel like they are apart of the American society and how would they feel like that if they are not welcomed back into the society by allowing them to vote. Felon or no felon they should still be able to vote. Just because that person did something wrong for whatever reason they shouldn’t be discriminated against. Okay some might think that men and women convicted of a felony are maybe somewhat unstable considering on the crime they committed and they shouldn’t really have a say on who is going to run the country, but I do believe they should be allowed to vote. Because just like everyone else they should have a say on what is going on.**

//“If felons violated the rights of the constitution, so therefore you shouldn’t have a say”//

**It is understanding that felons have committed a crime and they have broken the law. But if they have been convicted and paid their debt to society why should they be excluded once they are out and set free. They paid there debt, not saying you should be allowed to do everything a free person is. Like having a decent job and having a house. But what is confusing is what does having a right to vote have to do with you being a felon. That would not affect their choice of who should be president. If they are not unstable you should be sane enough to choose a leader of the free world.**

//Once they committed the crime they basically gave up their rights of having a say. So why should they be allowed to vote?”//

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