America has long been renowned as a land of opportunity, in which all citizens, regardless of their social status or net worth, have equal opportunities to achieve the American dream. Among the most prominent reasons for this reputation is the importance that America has placed on equitable inclusion of minority groups in opportunities in past years; from the Voting Rights Act of 1965– prohibiting racial discrimination in voting– to the College For All Act of 2023– expanding access to higher education– it’s undeniable that America has made significant strides in ensuring complete equality. However, the nation has a long way to go before truly achieving this ideal. Forty-eight states in America have laws that ban individuals charged with felonies from voting. All in all, this legislation bars a shocking 4.6 million people from voting, according to the Prison Journalism Project– a significant portion of the American population that has no say in the future that they will live in. To truly uphold America’s promise of equal opportunity, prisoners must be granted the right to vote.

Voting is the basis on which a democracy is built, and denying that right to prisoners erodes the very foundation of a just society. The Declaration of Independence famously asserts that “all men are created equal,” endowed with “unalienable Rights,” including “Life, Liberty, and the pursuit of Happiness.” Therefore, these rights, being unalienable, can’t disappear the moment someone is incarcerated. Some might argue that taking away these rights are necessary to ensure the safety of American society. However, this claim has been proven false. In Maine – one of the two states that allow prisoners to vote– prisoners’ reintegration success rates are substantially higher than the national average. According to the Maine Department of Corrections, in 2019, 7.1% of criminal offenders returned to custody within a year of their release. This is significantly less than the national average of  40%, according to the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania. This evidence clearly demonstrates that these fundamental rights do not incentivize or aid prisoners in carrying out further crimes, but rather displays correlation between these rights and more successful reintegration into society. As Norman Brown, a man in Missouri who has been incarcerated since 1993 told Vox News, “You tell yourself every day, you are someone. This becomes your coping mechanism but deep down inside you feel powerless to change the hopelessness of being stripped and reduced to a number. You are in effect broken. Giving or restoring voting rights would be a step toward healing and restoring the humanity to human beings that have been broken.”

To add weight to the matter, the effects of prisoner disenfranchisement reach far beyond prison walls, inducing consequences apparent in all parts of American society. For example, prisoner voting bans also exacerbate existing inequalities between certain demographics. In 2019, Black men had the highest rate of jail admissions, almost six times higher than any other group, according to Pew Trusts. Therefore, minorities– such as the Black and Hispanic communities– are overwhelmingly represented in prisoner populations.  Prisoners being unable to vote has a disproportionate impact on communities that are already marginalized, reducing the say these communities have in the future of the nation and hindering the values of equality that America is founded upon.

Additionally, it is a glaring hypocrisy that although prisoners are still expected to pay taxes, as is their obligation as American citizens, they are barred from voting– a right that comes with citizenship. As citizens, they are financially bound to the laws and policies of the land, yet they are excluded from voting on the policies that govern their lives. This selective selection of which prisoners are considered American citizens and which ones are not exposes the unjust nature of disenfranchisement of prisoners, as it treats prisoners as subjects of a democracy without acknowledging their right to live in it. If they must live under the laws, be subject to taxation, and endure the consequences of political decisions, their voices should be heard in the democratic process. Although the popular Massachusetts politician and Patriot James Otis Jr.’s famous words, “taxation without representation is tyranny,” are still commemorated to this day, current policies contradict this sentiment.

All in all, millions of prisoners in America are barred from voting, which diametrically contradicts the egalitarian principles and beliefs that America was founded upon. By continuing to silence the voices of the very people who will live in this nation for years to come, America not only disputes its inherent values but also opens the door to societal impacts that threaten to weaken the foundations that support our country. Now is the time to act! Even if you’re a student, you have a role to play to ensure a better future for us all. Don’t let silence equal complicity– speak up, speak out, and stand for a democracy that includes everyone. Justice doesn’t wait, and neither should you!