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March 06, 2007
NY Times Editorial: Free to Vote in Florida
March 6, 2007
Editorial, NY Times
Free to Vote in Florida
Florida is notorious for running elections badly, but its new governor is trying to fix one of the state’s most unjust and undemocratic practices. He has called for tearing down the barriers that prevent as many as 950,000 ex-offenders from voting.
The United States stands alone in the free world when it comes to laws that strip convicted felons of the right to vote — sometimes for life — even after they complete their sentences and go on to crime-free lives. Of the more than five million citizens who were barred from the polls in the last presidential election, virtually all would have been free to vote in nations like Canada, France or Britain.
Northern and Midwestern states are gradually backing away from voting bans for ex-offenders. But these antidemocratic laws remain entrenched in the Deep South, where they were enacted in the late 19th and early 20th centuries as part of a broad effort to restrict the political influence of African-Americans. And Florida has the most restrictive laws and the highest number of disenfranchised ex-offenders of any state in the country.
As it stands now, Floridians who want their voting and civil rights restored must apply to a slow-moving state clemency board that meets only four times a year and has an enormous backlog of cases. The state attorney general recently suggested enlarging the overall staff and having the clemency board meet more frequently, but more substantial action is needed.
Gov. Charlie Crist has a better idea: automatically restoring voting rights to felons who complete their sentences. In a recent speech, Mr. Crist pledged to lead the movement for the restoration of voting and civil rights for ex-offenders in Florida and hinted that he might do so by issuing an executive order.
That’s an excellent proposal. It would take the restoration issue out of the hands of a sluggish bureaucracy that has clearly failed to do its job and vault Florida to the forefront of a national movement that aims to extend democracy to ex-offenders. It would also help put an end to one of the most shameful episodes in American electoral history.
http://www.nytimes.com/2007/03/06/opinion/06tues2.html
Posted by lois at March 6, 2007 09:17 AM