2.3 million people were imprisoned in the year 2017. In total, about 6.1 million were, or have been convicted of a felony and are prohibited from voting in elections. Kids under the age of 18 also have the right of voting taken away because they are not seen as educated enough to make a decision such as this. The reasoning for not allowing those who were convicted of a felony is a bit different, it is simply caused from a lack of trust in their judgement. However, according to thehill.com, not allowing felons to vote is like, “stripping their liberty,” and “it furthers punishment beyond what they’ve already felt from the courts.” The actions are justified in the 14th amendment which says that any state may deny the right to vote to those who participate in a crime. Different states interpret this differently, some completely give felons the opportunity to vote, others give them a set time in which their right to vote is taken. However, in some cases, such as Kentucky, Florida and Iowa, regardless of the crime, ex-felons will never be given the opportunity to vote.

But what if they could vote, how would that change things? If all felons voted, the amount of votes would go up by about 5 percent. Not only would it increase the amount of votes, but felons would feel like a part of society once again. The Chicago Tribune states “restoring the voting rights of criminals once they’ve paid their debt to society makes far more sense than excluding them for life”. The topic is a controversial one and it seems everyone has something to say about how it should be handled. There is no denying the fact that some felons will never be given the right to vote again until something changes.