Locked Out: Felon Disenfranchisement and American Democracy5. 4 million Americans 1 in every 40 voting age adults are denied the right to participate in democratic elections because of a past or current felony conviction. In several American states, 1 in 4 black men cannot vote due to a felony conviction. In a country that prides itself on universal suffrage, how did the United States come to deny a voice to such a large percentage of its citizenry? What are the consequences of large scale disenfranchisement