The White House, the Congress, the prospect of change.

The importance of each and every vote.

Protect and to preserve our voting system.

From the ACLU, this is at the polls, a special mini series on, you guessed it, voting.

I'm Molly McGrath, a voting rights lawyer and organizer, and your host for this series.

The right to vote of all of our young people.

It belongs to you.

The machinery of democracy should work for everyone everywhere.

This week, we'll be answering the question,

why are we stopping people who've been convicted of a felony from voting?

And stay tuned.

At the end of the episode, we'll answer listener questions.

Earlier this year, Demetrius Jifanza voted for the first time in his life.

He's 43 years old, and for the last 24 years, he's been blocked at the ballot box by

his criminal record in his home state of Florida.

Voting in his local election? Well, it was a big day for him.

It was great. I always tell people that voting rights is like the front door to so many

future possibilities. You know, you think that just because you land a good career, you're

a job, you go back to school, you get your degrees, you have your family, you're paying your taxes, you're doing all that right there. That's normal stuff.

But to someone who made a regrettable decision and cannot really exercise their voter rights, the normal stuff is like a big thing to someone in my shoes because it's like you're working,

but you don't have a voice.

You're doing everything you're supposed to do and people cheering you on.

...