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Voting Rights Elude Some People in FL With Felony Convictions

By Real Cost of Prisons Project (The Sentencing Project)

NY Times By GARY FINEOUT Published: March 11, 2009 TALLAHASSEE, Fla.? Florida?s procedures for restoring voting rights to convicted felons are so cumbersome, bureaucratic and confusing that some ex-convicts are being denied their rights, according to a report by the American Civil Liberties Union of Florida. Most election officials throughout the state are unsure about who can win back their voting rights, the report found. Florida is among a handful of states that do not permit automatic restoration of rights once someone has been released from prison. In 2007, Gov. Charlie Crist pushed through new procedures to speed up the process for most felons seeking voting rights. The new process does not apply to murderers and sex offenders. More than 138,000 people had their rights restored between April 2007 and March 2009, but the A...continue to full post

Full post as published by The Real Cost of Prisons Weblog on March 12, 2009 (boomark / email).