It was this distinction that gave the court the power to determine the law was unconstitutional. Nearly half of those states strip the right for life. This is an antiquated, irrational practice that has consequences both obvious and subtle for a democratic system. When released, felons have paid their debt to society. Furthermore, they are at no point stripped of their citizenship.
Every citizen is supposed to get a vote.
That is the way of a democracy. A disproportionate number of convicted persons are African American or Hispanic. That is certainly an argument that deserves consideration. It is also a scary thought that political power has such direct control over the power of the people rather than the other way around. That feels suspiciously akin to the pre-civil rights south.