Florida's lifetime ban on voting by felons is unconstitutional, federal judge rules

[DonViejo]

BY STEVE BOUSQUET

Herald/Times Tallahassee Bureau

February 01, 2018 05:58 PM

Updated 37 minutes ago

TALLAHASSEE - A federal judge ruled Thursday that Florida’s lifetime ban on restoring voting rights for felons violates the U.S. Constitution.

U.S. District Judge Mark Walker said Florida’s vote restoration process unfairly relies on the personal support of Gov. Rick Scott for citizens to regain “this fundamental right.”

Walker ruled in a case brought by the Fair Elections Legal Network, a Washington, D.C., group that challenged the constitutionality of the Florida system.

Walker’s decision came nine days after the state approved a ballot measure that, if passed in November, would restore the voting rights of about 1.2 million felons.

more
https://www.miamiherald.com/news/politics-government/state-politics/article197932309.html

[Cha]

1. Wow.. Great News! Thank you Judge

Mark Walker!

[lpbk2713]

2. Oh if only now we could redo the Y2K selection.

Jeb and Harris knew what they were doing was illegal.

Before the 2000 election, then-Secretary of State Katherine Harris hired a company to purge felons from the state's voting lists. But the process was flawed and many eligible voters were removed from rolls because of mistaken identity. Others were convicted of misdemeanors and not felonies.

Link: https://www.nytimes.com/aponline/2018/01/23/us/ap-us-felon-voting-rights-florida.html

[mcar]

3. And we'll have an amendment on the 2018 GE ballot

To restore voting rights to all felons who have paid their debt to society!

[Baitball Blogger]

4. Seriously? It took this long to reach that conclusion?

[babylonsister]

5. FL is vewy, vewy slow, and has been really red.

I'm hoping that will change this year with the influx of our neighbors to the south who despise dt.