Here's my strongest point first: voting is a civic responsibility tied to following the basic rules of the community, and a felony conviction represents a deliberate break from that contract. Let me define what I mean. When someone commits a serious crime, they're saying the laws don't apply to them. Voting is how we collectively decide those laws, so there's a contradiction in letting someone who's actively serving time for violating the social contract help write it. Now, I want to be clear about scope. I'm not saying lifetime bans. I'm talking about while incarcerated, and maybe during parole. That's a reasonable middle ground. The felon hasn't paid their debt yet, so full participation in civic life doesn't make sense. My opponent might argue this undermines rehabilitation or that many felonies are minor. But the line has to be drawn somewhere, and the felony threshold — serious offenses — is a fair one. The system already removes other rights during incarceration. Voting is no different.

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