Felons want to vote now? Cute. Here’s my point: voting is a say in the rules — a responsibility you earn by following them. A felony conviction isn't a parking ticket; it's the system saying you put yourself above the law. Should that person help decide what the law is? While you're serving time, you've forfeited that voice. And spare me the "they pay taxes" line — non-citizens pay taxes too, and they don't vote. Restoration after release? Maybe in some cases, but not as an automatic right. Break the contract and you lose the privileges.

Someone who holds up a convenience store doesn't get a say in how the city runs its security systems while they're sitting in a cell. That's not cruelty — it's accountability. You say felons are already deprived and adding voting limits is unjust, but voting isn't about restoring someone's will; it's about having skin in the game. And the legal point only works if you pretend disenfranchisement isn't part of the sentence. It is. It's written into law, announced at conviction, and appealable. The moral concern about dignity is fair, but the contract was broken first.

So who do you think those elected leaders go on to hire, appoint, and legislate? Pretending a vote for a person isn't a vote for their laws is like saying picking a surgeon isn't choosing their scalpel. Felons broke the social contract, and while they're serving the sentence, they don't get to pick the people who write and enforce it. That’s not cruelty; it's accountability. Restoration can happen later, but "a choice" was never an absolute right — it's a trust you have to keep.