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Ethics Around the Table (EAT) Series: Should Criminals Have the Right to Vote?
October 1, 2014 @ 12:15 pm - 1:15 pm
Steve Swartzer, Outreach Coordinator and Lecturer at the Parr Center for Ethics, will discuss the question, “should criminals have the right to vote”?
The right to political participation is a basic human right. However, like many others, this right is often lost (at least temporarily) when one is convicted of certain crimes. According to the most recent available estimates, 5.85 million U.S. citizens are ineligible to vote because of a current or past criminal conviction (Uggen, Shannon & Manza 2012, 1). In this session, we will discuss the main moral arguments for and against making basic political rights contingent on one’s criminal history. We will focus primarily on (1) whether or not the temporary or permanent loss of voting rights could be justifiable as a form of punishment, and (2) how we should understand the legitimacy of criminal disenfranchisement policies in the context of wider injustices in the creation and enforcement of criminal laws.
Registration for this event is now full. Thank you for your interest, and we hope to see you at future Ethics Around the Table luncheons!