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Related: Editorials & Other Articles, Issue Forums, Alliance Forums, Region ForumsJudge Strikes Down Felon Disenfranchisement System in Florida
A federal judge in Florida has struck down Floridas system for determining which ex-felons have the right to vote, handing an unexpected victory to advocates of broader voting rights.
Florida is one of a handful of states that permanently disenfranchise convicted felons, even after they have completed the terms of their sentence. The result is that more than 1.5 million Floridians are barred from voting, including 20 percent of voting-age African Americans. In November, Floridians will vote on a constitutional amendment to overturn the states disenfranchisement law.
Judge Mark Walkers ruling Thursday does not address the legality of felon disenfranchisement, but rather the manner in which the state haphazardly restores voting rights to some former felons. In Florida, felons must individually apply for rights restoration, often imploring the governor and his Cabinet in person for their rights. That practice, detailed in 2015 by Mother Jones, makes restoring a persons suffrage a personal decision by top state officials. Governors often determine whether to restore a citizens voting rights based on unrelated matters, such as his religiosity or number of traffic citations. Sometimes, the voting rights group challenging Floridas regime has argued in this case, Republican governors may be swayed to restore voting rights to ex-felons who will vote for Republicans.
https://www.motherjones.com/politics/2018/02/judge-strikes-down-felon-disenfranchisement-system-in-florida/
malaise
(269,031 posts)Off to the greatest page
HopeAgain
(4,407 posts)We will have an opportunity to end permanant disenfranchisement.
Kristofer Bry
(175 posts)Period.
MichMan
(11,932 posts)Morris64
(78 posts)Hortensis
(58,785 posts)Apparently that 20% disenfranchised AAs in Florida is more like 31% of disenfranchised MALE AAs in Florida. 31% of all black men in Florida are not allowed to vote.
What would the percentage be IF criminalizing could not be used a tool for vote suppression?
"Two percent of all Americans, or 3.9 million, have lost the right to vote, compared with 13 percent of adult black men."
And the percentage of prosecution-disenfranchized citizens is INCREASING each year.