21 votes

Will Florida’s ex-felons finally regain the right to vote? A referendum on the November ballot in Florida would re-enfranchise 1.5 million citizens

Posted by spit-evil-olive-tips
Tags: usa.fl, politics, law.constitutional, referendums, felons, criminal justice, rights.voting, government.local, author.emily bazelon, long read, paywall.soft
https://www.nytimes.com/2018/09/26/magazine/ex-felons-voting-rights-florida.html

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Title
Will Florida's Ex-Felons Finally Regain the Right to Vote?
Published
Sep 26 2018
Word count
6461 words

3 comments

  1. spit-evil-olive-tips
    Link
    In Florida, theft of just $300 is considered a felony. If an 18 year old steals $300 - which could be shoplifting a cell phone, for example - that's absolutely a crime and should be punished. But...

    In Florida, theft of just $300 is considered a felony. If an 18 year old steals $300 - which could be shoplifting a cell phone, for example - that's absolutely a crime and should be punished. But it should not be punished with a life sentence of never being allowed to vote.

    13 votes
  2. dubteedub
    Link
    John Oliver did a great in depth video on voter disenfranchisement, with a focus on Florida, a couple weeks back https://youtu.be/NpPyLcQ2vdI

    John Oliver did a great in depth video on voter disenfranchisement, with a focus on Florida, a couple weeks back

    https://youtu.be/NpPyLcQ2vdI

    6 votes
  3. KapteinB
    Link
    Good article, thanks for sharing. :-) That number, 1.5 million, about 1 in 10 voting age citizens; that's absolutely ridiculous. It would be interesting to see year-by-year numbers, since the...

    Good article, thanks for sharing. :-)

    That number, 1.5 million, about 1 in 10 voting age citizens; that's absolutely ridiculous. It would be interesting to see year-by-year numbers, since the article says some governors have worked hard to reduce the number, giving voting rights back to hundreds of thousands of ex-felons. According to the article the number has almost doubled since the year 2000, which might indicate a very bad trend. Or maybe that's how much it increases in 5 years with a Republican governor, only to be reduced to half again during a Democratic governor's term.

    One of the many many fascinating things about politics in the US is how one of the two established political parties seems to be actively working to reduce the number of voters, for their own political gain.

    Side note: Never vote for a politician who promises to get tough on an issue. That's something they say when they don't actually have any solutions.

    5 votes