The removal of the right to vote is part of the systematic disenfranchisement of Black people in the US. Many states still have laws permanently removing the ri

The removal of the right to vote is part of the systematic disenfranchisement of Black people in the US. Many states still have laws permanently removing the right to vote from people with felony convictions. Recent shenanigans in Florida pretty clearly lay out what's at stake here. Enough people are put through the criminal justice system that they would be a significant voting block... if they have the right to vote. And since they can't vote, politicians have literally no interest in ensuring that prisons are handled humanely. It's also worth considering that many violent offenders get put away when they're basically still kids, and become totally different people as adults. The mythical Charles Manson interest group is vanishingly small, and easily outweighed by basically every other voter. Finally, the restoration of voting rights for felons was delivered by a ballot initiative led by formerly incarcerated people. They most definitely did not consider it a waste of energy! The Planet Money podcast just had an excellent episode on the issue, with interviews with a couple of the people who made it happen: https://www.npr.org/2020/10/26/927846676/who-gets-to-vote-in-florida https://www.npr.org/2020/10/26/927846676/who-gets-to-vote-in...