How come ex-felons are not allowed to vote once they have served their time in prison? Why does a nation considered democratic like the United States not allow ex-felons to vote even after serving a prison sentence? Meanwhile, other developed and industrialized countries allow their incarcerated populations to be part of the electorate. Is our criminal justice system objective as we understand it? Felon disenfranchisement is a persistent problem in all fifty states where laws vary. Since the founding of this nation, felon disenfranchisement has been commonplace, Article 1, Section 2 of the U.S. Constitution grants states the power to define who can vote in federal elections and, therefore, the Disqualification of felons has remained a common component of federal elections. This means that if someone commits a crime in one state and they are considered a felon but in another state that same crime is considered a misdemeanor. The fact that these states' laws target certain groups with predominantly minority demographics may seem like a coincidence, but many believe it is an indirect form of discrimination. African Americans did not have the right to vote until after the civil rights movements. They gained the right to vote through the Voting Rights Act, but before that, they were discriminated against due to discriminatory laws implemented by states, such as Jim Crow laws. After the civil rights movement, southern democratic elites, in order to maintain control of government, amended their constitutions in ways that disenfranchised ex-felons. They argued that they did not discriminate on the basis of race but rather on crimes...... middle of paper ...... Liberties Union) which defended criminals and rights through courts, legislatures, and groups to preserve the rights that are granted to every citizen in the Constitution and laws of the United States. They also help ex-felons in the process of recovering their rights. Their job primarily involves putting the issue of ex-felon voting on the public agenda, both at the state and national level. Although there is still much work to be done, the ACLU has helped many people in the fight to regain civil liberties. We wonder why we have such low turnout rates when it comes to presidential elections, let alone state and local elections which have much worse turnout. But we do not take into account the number of people who do not have the right to vote, sometimes for life. Felon voting laws disenfranchise about 5.85 million Americans with criminal records.