Things have changed in the two centuries-plus since the Constitution was ratified. Struggles of working people have expanded the franchise, first by eliminating slavery and then by the 15th Amendment giving former slaves the right to vote and the 19th Amendment giving women the right to vote. State property qualifications have also been removed. But the battle over who votes and who doesn t continues, in part because it is also over who gets to vote a question that reaches far beyond Florida. Rather, we are talking about the relative strength of voters, measured in terms of annual income.
Several reasons come to mind.
Those with lower incomes are less likely to own homes, and more likely to move often. That makes it more difficult to maintain a current voter registration. Lack of a car adds another obstacle to voting. When time is short, distances long, and public transportation scarce, it is that much harder to get to the polls. Lower-income groups are more likely to be barred from voting, because they are immigrants or because they have a prison record.