1. Introduction -- 2. The history of disenfranchisement laws -- 3. The toll on minority communities -- 4. Collateral damages and clemency -- 5. Justifications for disenfranchisement : pragmatic, principled, and philosophical -- 6. Reform : interest groups and strategies -- 7. State reforms -- 8. Voting : constitutional and civil concerns -- 9. Constitutional challenges and the voting rights act -- 10. Cruel and unusual punishment and international law -- 11. The political consequences of disenfranchisement -- 12. Thinking the unthinkable.