TODAY, 5.3 million Americans cannot vote because they were convicted of a felony sometime in their past. Nearly 4 million of them are out of prison, having completed their sentences or been placed on parole or probation. They live in communities, work, pay taxes and raise families. Yet they remain disenfranchised.

Federal laws, and widely varying state laws, have a heavy impact on these Americans - especially black males. Today, 13 percent of African-American men have lost their right to vote - a rate seven times higher than the national average.

"Restoring the Right to Vote," a study by the Brennan Center for Justice at the New York University School of Law, argues these voting rights should be restored. The political impacts of disenfranchisement are obvious, stresses author Erika Wood.

Denying black and poor people their right to vote dramatically decreased the political power of urban and minority communities. And "disenfranchising the head of a household can discourage his or her entire family from civic participation," Wood adds.

"In the last 25 years, as incarceration rates skyrocketed and African-Americans were sent to prison at a rate seven times that of whites, the political power of minority communities has been decimated. It's a simple equation: communities with high rates of people with felony convictions have fewer votes to cast," Wood writes.

The American Probation and Parole Association believes voting rights should be restored to all who complete prison terms. "Disenfranchisement laws work against the successful reentry of offenders" into society, the group believes.

Sen. Russ Feingold, D-Wisc., and Rep. John Conyers, D-Mich., plan to introduce the Democracy Restoration Act of 2008, a bill returning federal voting rights to all those released from prison and living in local communities. But Republicans are expected to resist, because blacks and the poor tend to vote Democratic.

Since 1997, 16 states have reformed their laws to restore voting rights more quickly. Today, Maine and Vermont don't disenfranchise even those locked in cells. Fourteen states immediately restore voting rights once prisoners are released.

West Virginia is one of 20 states that don't restore voting rights until ex-prisoners complete parole or probation.

This election year, with politics dominating the news, would be a good time to reform the way prisoners are treated. It would a big step to stop discriminating against outcasts by letting them rejoin democracy.

We hope West Virginia's members of Congress support the Feingold-Conyers bill.

Federal laws, and widely varying state laws, have a heavy impact on these Americans - especially black males. Today, 13 percent of African-American men have lost their right to vote - a rate seven times higher than the national average.

"Restoring the Right to Vote," a study by the Brennan Center for Justice at the New York University School of Law, argues these voting rights should be restored. The political impacts of disenfranchisement are obvious, stresses author Erika Wood.

Denying black and poor people their right to vote dramatically decreased the political power of urban and minority communities. And "disenfranchising the head of a household can discourage his or her entire family from civic participation," Wood adds.

"In the last 25 years, as incarceration rates skyrocketed and African-Americans were sent to prison at a rate seven times that of whites, the political power of minority communities has been decimated. It's a simple equation: communities with high rates of people with felony convictions have fewer votes to cast," Wood writes.

The American Probation and Parole Association believes voting rights should be restored to all who complete prison terms. "Disenfranchisement laws work against the successful reentry of offenders" into society, the group believes.

Sen. Russ Feingold, D-Wisc., and Rep. John Conyers, D-Mich., plan to introduce the Democracy Restoration Act of 2008, a bill returning federal voting rights to all those released from prison and living in local communities. But Republicans are expected to resist, because blacks and the poor tend to vote Democratic.

Since 1997, 16 states have reformed their laws to restore voting rights more quickly. Today, Maine and Vermont don't disenfranchise even those locked in cells. Fourteen states immediately restore voting rights once prisoners are released.

West Virginia is one of 20 states that don't restore voting rights until ex-prisoners complete parole or probation.

This election year, with politics dominating the news, would be a good time to reform the way prisoners are treated. It would a big step to stop discriminating against outcasts by letting them rejoin democracy.

We hope West Virginia's members of Congress support the Feingold-Conyers bill.