Blog Stage Seven

Blog Stage Seven

“Too Poor to Vote” is an opinion article featured in the New York Times by Danielle Lang and Thea Sebastian. Writing in the opinion article, Lang and Sebastian complain that, “If you’ve committed a crime and are rich, you can pay court fees and cast a ballot. If you don't have money, you might be left out of democracy” (Lang and Sebastian). In making this comment, Lang and Sebastian urges us to realize not everyone has the privilege to vote. I agree with their argument because this obstacle prevents a full democracy. We the people are the foundation for democracy. That being said these people should be required to vote regardless of unpaid court fines and fees because this is a principle of our constitution.

Our country’s felony laws prohibits people from voting due to unpaid court fines and fees. According to Lang and Sebastian, “In seven states- Arkansas, Arizona, Alabama, Connecticut, Kentucky, Tennessee and Florida- laws explicitly prohibit people who owe court debt from voting” (Lang and Sebastian).  Lang and Sebastian’s point is that people who owe court debt cannot vote. These people may never have the opportunity to vote due to excessive amounts of debt. We need to solve this issue in order to create a fuller democracy within our country.

An essential right the constitution offers is stripped away from people who cannot afford to pay off their court fines and fees. Lang and Sebastian states, “Constitution- that our government cannot deny poor people basic rights in our society simply because they are poor- is violated” (Lang and Sebastian). In other words, Lang and Sebastian believe these people should vote because the constitution says the government cannot deny poor people’s basic rights. Governments are violating the constitution. We need to improve laws within governments for these people in order to restore the fundamentals of the constitution.

People who have unpaid court fines and fees need to be required to vote because they have the right according our constitution. They need this right because our constitution says the government cannot deny poor people basic rights. Consequences for not resolving this position will result in lawsuits against particular governments that have violated this particular constitution fundamental. We need to improve laws within governments in order to restore the fundamentals of the constitution that allows these people to vote and create a fuller democracy.

Works Cited

Lang, Danielle, and Thea Sebastian. “Too Poor to Vote.” The New York Times, 1 Nov. 2018, www.nytimes.com/2018/11/01/opinion/election-voting-rights-poverty.html?rref=collection%2Fsectioncollection%2Fopinion&action=click&contentCollection=opinion