Florida is one of several states that denies voting rights to felons who have completed their jail and parole terms. According to The Sentencing Project, about 5.3 million American citizens are denied the right to vote because of felony convictions. Florida was one of a few states with unusually strict laws making it all but impossible to regain voting rights under normal circumstances.
In 2000, Katharine Harris disenfranchised thousands of legitimate voters by sending around a contested list of felons to the counties and asking that those voters be stricken from the roles. Many people with the same names as felons were denied the right to vote. Interestingly enough, the list was devised in such a way that no Hispanic Americans (who lean Republican in Florida) were on it.
There is a costly and timeconsuming process under current Florida law to receive clemency and have voting rights restored. Few people take advantage of it.
I'm happy to report that Florida's new governor, Charlie Crist (R), has restored voting rights to felons in his state. Because voting qualifications are determined by the executive branch, he did not have to go through the state's hyper-partisan Republican legislature.
Here's the story from the AP via the New York Times:
TALLAHASSEE, Fla. (AP) -- Most Florida felons will regain voting and other civil rights more quickly after completing their sentences under changes approved Thursday by the governor and the state clemency board.
All but the most violent felons can now avoid waiting for a board hearing, a process that sometimes takes years.
Along with regaining the right to vote, felons can now more quickly serve on juries and get licensed for many occupations, a key concern of activists. The right to have a firearm still wouldn't be automatically restored.
...
Under the change, which takes effect immediately, Florida officials will automatically begin the rights-restoration process for felons when they finish their sentences. People who previously completed sentences but are still awaiting restoration of their rights will still have to apply on their own because most are not tracked by the state after their release.
The change was urged by Republican Gov. Charlie Crist, who was elected last November. His predecessor, Jeb Bush, had long opposed changing the ban.
It's not perfect. Crist had to get 2 of Florida's 3 constitutional officers to agree, and in addition to Democrat Alex Sink (Mrs. Bill McBride) he had to negotiate with conservative Republicans. But this is a great advance under the circumstances!
Update: Wiscmass provided a link to state-by-state data showing the extent of the problem. Nearly 1 million Floridians have been denied the right to vote despite having completed their sentences.