By this time next week we should know which party controls the Senate, if marijuana for medical use will be legal in Florida and if Rick Scott will be governor here for another four years. Voters will help decide those things. But more than five million voting-age tax-paying U.S. citizens will not be allowed to due to felony disenfranchisement. It’s an issue that affects 1 in 10 voting age residents in the state of Florida. 12 states restrict voting rights after felons have served their time and the sunshine state tops the list of people affected. “I made some bad choices in life,” said Keith Ivey. He served 8 1/2 years in prison for fraud. Ivey was released in January of 2012 but says he feels like his past continues to dictate his future. “I pay taxes, I run a business, but I have no voice,” said Ivey, who cannot vote.
“Florida has one of the most restrictive policies in the country,” said Marc Mauer, Executive Director of The Sentencing Project. “In Florida and three other states every felony conviction results in lifetime disenfranchisement.”
The Sentencing Project is a criminal justice non-profit out of Washington D.C. A recent study shows Florida by far has the highest number of people who are disenfranchised. About 1.5 million people in Florida cannot vote because of a felony conviction.
Full Article: Who has the right to vote?.