Bernie Sanders recently made the insane suggestion that prisoners, including murderers, rapists and even the Boston Marathon bomber, should be able to vote.
An overwhelming majority of Americans disagree.
The Business Insider reports:
75% of Americans disagree with Bernie Sanders’ plan to let every US prisoner vote
The vast majority of Americans — roughly 75% — do not support Sen. Bernie Sanders’ proposal to enfranchise all prisoners, but many are open to giving voting rights to non-violent inmates, according to a new INSIDER poll.
Only 15% of respondents said all prisoners — regardless of their crimes — should keep their voting rights while behind bars. Meanwhile, 20% said only voters convicted of non-violent offenses should be allowed to vote.
During a CNN town hall last Monday, the Vermont senator was asked to clarify if he supports voting rights for people like the Boston Marathon bomber or people convicted of rape. Sanders replied that even “terrible people” should be allowed to vote, contending that disenfranchising any group of people is a “slippery slope.”
Based on our poll, approximately 35% of voters are supportive of enfranchising currently incarcerated people in some capacity, but most of these people aren’t willing to go as far as Sanders.
Beyond those that believe current prisoners should vote, roughly 30% said currently incarcerated people should lose their right to vote, but be re-enfranchised when they’re released. 24% of respondent said those convicted of violent felonies should permanently lose voting rights.
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It’s amazing that Bernie even floated this idea. Some liberals are even pushing back.
From The Week:
Bernie Sanders is wrong. Violent offenders should not get to vote from prison.
This is a terrible idea. Violent offenders — people who have intentionally harmed another human — shouldn’t get to help choose our leaders or be a part of our collective decision-making process…
There’s still a long way to go toward fixing the problem of over-incarceration in America, but the indicators are largely pointing in the right direction.
Letting violent felons vote from behind bars, however, goes too far…
Some of the people who commit those crimes can be rehabilitated, and should be restored to full rights when they rejoin the general public. But some — Roof, for example, but also the Stoneman Douglas school shooter in Florida and the Boston Marathon bombers, all of whom survived their crimes and live now behind bars — commit evil on such a scale that they cannot possibly be allowed to fully participate in society. Those people — and they are a small minority of those who actually end up in prison — shouldn’t get to vote.
Frankly, Bernie should be ashamed for even suggesting this.
The victims of murderers don’t get to vote.
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