Should Ex-Convicts Be Considered U.S. Citizens?

That is once a person is released from jail should their full rights and privileges as citizens be reinstated?

Now there is nothing written expressly in the U.S. Constitution that states because a person commits a felony or criminal offense that their voting privileges are forever suspended.

Once again the ever famous XIV amendment section 1 states,

Section 1. All persons born or naturalized in the United States, and subject to the jurisdiction thereof, are citizens of the United States and of the state wherein they reside. No state shall make or enforce any law which shall abridge the privileges or immunities of citizens of the United States; nor shall any state deprive any person of life, liberty, or property, without due process of law; nor deny to any person within its jurisdiction the equal protection of the laws.

Now notice it says absolutely nothing about if you are convicted of a felony you cannot vote. Nor for that matter does it say while one is incarcerated they cannot vote either.

As long as the con was born or naturalized within the US, they are still US citizens. "No state shall make or abridge the privileges or immunities of the citizens of the United States". Based on that one sentence, any state law that prohibits its citizens while incarcerated or after their release has no authority to deny them the right to vote.

Obviously many state laws are conflicting with this idea.

But lets look past that point for a moment. Say you don't want prisoners and ex cons to vote because obviously they are going to have a lot to say about prison reforms. And by last count when 1 in 136 Americans is locked up, thats a lot of floating political currency which is cheap. Then of course if they are still regarded as citizens you would have to pay them minimum wage as well, the one's who are working anyway. So you cant pay them thirty cents per day anymore. And if they wanted to form a union of prisoner workers they could under the Constitution. Maybe this is taking this to a high degree,but its completely plausible.