Thanks for asking, friend! I'm happy to answer. First though, note that what we voted was simply to say that prisoners can vote. And as you know well, most prisoners are convicted of more trivial offenses.
https://twitter.com/NRCC/status/1366847016043761672
1/ And as I'm sure you're well aware, our prison system massively over-incarcerates minorities, typically for low-level crimes that white men like me never get arrested for.
2/ Note this has nothing to do with whether or not people should do the time if they did the crime. It's simply saying that we cannot and should not use our prison system as a back-door to disenfranchisement.
3/ As you may recall, our country used to enslave people. When we ended slavery, we had a brief period of reconstruction when blacks could vote, but that threat to southern white power led to the Jim Crow era. Google "lynching and disenfranchisement" if you need a refresher.
4/ It took nearly 100 years and Emmet Till's murder but Americans finally decided they had enough. Freedom riders deseregrated buses and lunch counters and finally brought an end to the Jim Crow era. But the legacy of our original sin remained.
5/ And thus began the era of mass incarceration of black men. Read up on Nixon, or Reagan's war on drugs. Here's some information to start: sentencingproject.org/publications/c…
6/ Highly recommend The New Jim Crow which gives a great synopsis of this history. If you're more in the mood for a movie, watch Just Mercy. Or take a trip Alabama to visit the Legacy Museum. It is powerful, and painful but necessary. museumandmemorial.eji.org
7/ The fact is, we cannot separate our history of active disenfranchisement of minorities since the passage of the 15th Amendment which is inseparable from mass incarceration.
8/ That in turn cripples our economy. The black/white unemployment gap which has historically run 2x (e.g., black unemployment rates 2x white) is actually closer to 3x once we take into account differential incarceration rates. 
9/ And it also hurts our democracy. If you're a member of Congress with a prison in your district, those prisoners count in the census so set the people you represent, but they don't get to vote. That is at odds with the principle of proportional representation in the House.
10/ In short, I love our democracy. I want people to vote. But I am also keenly aware of our history of racial disenfranchisement. The job @LaurenUnderwood and I have requires us to work to ensure a more perfect union.
11/ We voted today with full knowledge of that history, and that aspiration. We voted to remove those tools that allow politicians to choose their voters rather than be chosen by their voters. Sorry if that bums you out. /fin
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