537.
Five-hundred thirty-seven.
DXXXVII.
Ring any bells? Remember back to the year 2000 and to the fiasco over Florida's 25 electoral votes? Remember the counting and the recounting and the demand for careful scrutiny of every individual ballot? Remember the systematic denial of basic democratic rights to literally hundreds of thousands of Floridians--enough people to make 537 seem like a drop in the bucket? Remember how, of the 820,000 Floridians permanently disenfranchised due to felony convictions, 600,000 had long since paid their dues to society by completely serving out their sentences?
Well, yesterday a bill passed through the Florida legislature taking one small step toward updating their antiquated felon disenfranchisement laws, which were deemed to be racially discriminatory by a 2003 decision handed down by the 11th Circuit Court of Appeals (though later overturned by that same court and denied of a review by the Supreme Court).
From Tuesday's
Miami Harold:
TALLAHASSEE - In a rare show of support for disenfranchised felons, the Florida Legislature on Monday unanimously passed a bill requiring county jails to help thousands of inmates apply for their civil rights once they have paid for their crimes.
The bill, now headed to Gov. Jeb Bush for approval, closes a little-known loophole in state law that has cost an estimated 50,000 felons since 1980 the chance to vote, serve on a jury, hold public office or qualify for various occupational licenses.
As the congressional elections grow closer and closer, and since over two-thirds of the nation's disenfranchised voters live in the "red" region of the South, it is of utmost importance for state legislatures and federal and state judiciaries to reexamine felon disenfranchisement laws in this country. And, given the racial and socio-economic make-up of disenfranchised ex-felons, the GOP will want to keep these laws on the books as long as they possibly can. Take a look at a few statistics on Florida, compiled by the Right to Vote Campaign back in 2000:
Quick Facts:
Total Number Disfranchised : 827,207
Percent Disfranchised : 7%
Total African-Americans Disfranchised : 256,392
Percent African-Americans Disfranchised : 16%
As many proponents of reform point out, the reinstating of ex-felons' civil rights is also an integral part of their attempts to reintegrate into society. Said Democratic State Senator Frederica Wilson of Miami, "We still have a lot of work to do, but it's a start...We're talking about helping people get back to work; otherwise, we're setting up a permanent underclass of people who can't get jobs. They end up resorting to crime.''
So, an official thank-you to the Florida State Legislature for clearing this bill, and let's keep an eye on Jeb to make sure he does the right thing.