July 25, 2003
Florida Voting Rights
Good news from Florida:
Florida agreed to help restore voting rights to nearly 125,000 convicted felons who didn't get enough advice on how to regain their rights when they walked free, officials said Thursday.Since Florida appears to have a long history of abusing the civil rights of ex felons this will have to be closely monitored to assure that Florida officials do not find another way to continue their historic practices.....
Florida is one of eight states that deny ex-felons the right to vote unless they take steps to have their civil rights restored by the state.
The Department of Corrections had acknowledged that offenders released between 1992 and 2001 did not get proper help on having their rights restored.
The system drew international attention during the bitter dispute over the 2000 presidential election, when some Florida voters claimed they weren't allowed to cast ballots because they were mistaken for convicted felons.
Of course, none of this has an impact on the 2000 election.....
Posted by Steve on July 25, 2003There's also a case out of the 9th circuit just released, Farrakahn v. Locke, that dealt with Washington state's felon disenfranchisement scheme. I haven't followed the case so I'm shaky on what's going on, but the 9th Circuit overturned a district court ruling that would have stopped a civil rights suit against Washington state.
Posted by Brett at July 25, 2003 12:04 PM
