Voting Rights Watch: In Florida, thousands of former felons are still without the vote
With Election Day looming, voters are preparing to turn out for what many predict will be a record-setting day across the country. The past few months have seen a surge in efforts to restore voting rights to former felons. Numerous legal cases, such as ones in Alabama, Mississippi, Georgia, and Tennessee have sought to overturn state laws that ban thousands of prisoners and former prisoners from the polls. In states where felons have their rights restored, uncertainty about the laws and qualifications have left registrars and potential voters confused and frustrated.
Eyes will again be on Florida tomorrow. Jim Crow-era voting practices made headlines in 2000 in Florida, where experts estimate as many as one million people were disenfranchised due to felony convictions.
Between 300,000 to more than 900,000 former felons are still disenfranchised, according to the Associated Press. This is despite a rule change aimed at speeding up Florida's restoration process. In 2007, Florida's Governor Charlie Crist changed the process for rights restoration, allowing felons with non-violent criminal charges to apply to have their rights restored. According to the AP, although some ex-felons have had their rights restored, many remain unregistered because they don't know it, and state officials say they've lost track of them and cannot notify them.
Civil rights and voting rights advocates have been frustrated by the bureaucratic slowdowns and the overall slow progress of restoration in Florida. According to the Florida Parole Commission, only 123,256 convicted felons have had their rights restored since the law changed. The Florida Parole Commission, which investigates rights restoration applications, still has a backlog of at least 56,502 cases, which some estimate may take years to clear up.
Eyes will again be on Florida tomorrow. Jim Crow-era voting practices made headlines in 2000 in Florida, where experts estimate as many as one million people were disenfranchised due to felony convictions.
Between 300,000 to more than 900,000 former felons are still disenfranchised, according to the Associated Press. This is despite a rule change aimed at speeding up Florida's restoration process. In 2007, Florida's Governor Charlie Crist changed the process for rights restoration, allowing felons with non-violent criminal charges to apply to have their rights restored. According to the AP, although some ex-felons have had their rights restored, many remain unregistered because they don't know it, and state officials say they've lost track of them and cannot notify them.
Civil rights and voting rights advocates have been frustrated by the bureaucratic slowdowns and the overall slow progress of restoration in Florida. According to the Florida Parole Commission, only 123,256 convicted felons have had their rights restored since the law changed. The Florida Parole Commission, which investigates rights restoration applications, still has a backlog of at least 56,502 cases, which some estimate may take years to clear up.
