Pennsylvania has a Constitution. Under that Constitution, everyone is entitled to vote. The Constitution doesn't disenfranchise prisoners!
Of course the conservative politicians are scared to death of allowing prisoners to cast a ballot. They've gotten around the Constitution by not allowing prisoners to register to vote and by not providing them ballots. As a result, for hundreds of years, prisoners have been a political underclass. They pay taxes and are obviously subject to the laws and elected officials, but they have no representation. Their vote is given to the rural white conservatives who have long oppressed and exploited the poor and the minorities.
If anyone should have the right to vote (indeed, be encouraged to vote), its prisoners. More than most other groups, they are the victims of extreme and unfair laws and officials. More than anyone else, they know what the laws and politicians actually do. If prisoners were allowed to vote, they would stop being the whipping-boys for every petty politician looking to buy a few votes. The whole political landscape and the political agenda would change. In many voting districts the Republican exploiters would be tossed out on their ears. For long enough they've been living at the expense of the poor and the downtrodden.
In this department we present a few articles about prisoner voting. We urge you to consult our Politicians and Politics Department for articles relating to political problems. Please consult our Bad Laws and Less Bad Laws Department for a perspective about legislation.