About Time
From CBS – Florida Ex-Cons To Regain Voting Rights:
Florida was one of three U.S. states along with Kentucky and Virginia that require ex-felons to take action to restore their civil rights no matter how long they’ve been out of prison. Other states have waiting periods before restoration; most restore rights automatically when felons complete their sentence.
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 Gov. Charlie Crist, who was elected last November. His predecessor, Jeb Bush, had long opposed changing the ban.
“I believe in simple human justice and that when somebody has paid their debt to society, it is paid in full,” Crist said Thursday. “There’s a time to move on, a time to give them an opportunity to have redemption, to have a chance to become productive citizens again.”
If Eliot Abrams can get a government job, some guy who has finished his sentence for kiting checks ought to be able to cut hair or drive a dump truck, as well as voting.
4 comments
Well, there goes their method of (illegally) cutting off former Texas felons who moved to Florida after they had their rights restored in Texas. How are they going to steal the next presidential “election” if they can’t purge the voter rolls?
If Crist keeps it up, someone is going to accuse him of being a Democrat. The system that was in place was incredibly stupid, and there are still a lot of ways of discouraging voters.
If Crist keeps it up, I don’t think he will care what anybody calls him, as long as “Governor” remains part of it for another seven years and 8 months…
Up until this year he was the Attorney General, so he’s not “soft on crime,” but the old system was just unworkable and wasted everyone’s time, as well as generating forests of paper.
I’m certain that the people involved have to finish their entire sentence, including probation/parole and make any restitution, but the old system was only looking at a few dozen cases a year out of the thousands who qualified, and they had to be reviewed by the cabinet. It was stupid, a Presidential pardon was easier to get.
Charlie is probably thinking governor to US senator.