Jonah M. Kessel, NY Times - [Tennessee] with a population of just over seven million people, stops nearly half a million of them from voting because of felony convictions.As is the case with so many things, this disenfranchisement is disproportionately impacting the state’s Black community. One in five Black adults in Tennessee has lost the right to vote because of a felony conviction. That is the highest rate in the country. Imagine if everyone in the entire city of Chattanooga was not allowed to vote.
This attack on democracy should make us all sad — and angry. While most states take away the right to vote when someone is convicted of a felony, most allow the possibility of restoration after a person has served the sentence. But Tennessee has marched in the opposite direction, making it nearly impossible to restore rights.
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