Posted on 01/23/2018 6:23:06 PM PST by markomalley
More than one million convicted felons in the swing state of Florida could receive the right to vote if a ballot measure amending Florida’s constitution passes this November.
A petition in support of the measure recently surpassed the 766,200 signatures needed to get it on the ballot. If passed, the measure would restore “the voting rights of Floridians with felony convictions after they complete all terms of their sentence including parole or probation.” It would not apply to those convicted of murder or sexual offenses.
If passed, the ballot measure could have a significant impact on election outcomes in the state.
President Donald Trump beat Hillary Clinton in Florida by 112,911 votes in the 2016 election. That’s less than one tenth of the number of felons who would rejoin voting rolls if the measure passes. Just under 1.5 million Floridians were barred from voting in the 2016 election due to felony convictions, according to The Sentencing Project.
Left-wing blog Think Progress, which first reported that the petition had garnered enough signatures, noted that “research shows that people with criminal convictions tend to vote for Democratic candidates.”
The Dems canvassed for signatures in areas with big black neighborhoods. I assume they are also registering people to vote.
Felons, welfare leeches, illegal aliens, and communists — the Dems’ base.
And dopers.
The sentence includes loss of voting rights, not just a prison term. I’ll be voting against this.
I agree. I bet most of them don’t bother to vote, anyway. If they paid for their crime, then that should be the end of it. Of course, many of them won’t stay out of trouble for long.
That’s the flip side. The justice system is a pendulum that spends more time at the extremes than at equilibrium. Violent perpetrators are set free, while petty criminals languish under harsh sentences. Conservatives rail for strict punishments, while the system is composed of committees filled with liberals who meet out decisions based on the most fashionable legal and academic sophistry.
“The first thing we do, let’s kill all the lawyers...”
That’s your prerogative. I’ll most likely join you, though because I think the process to reapply for the franchise is not unreasonable. We count our rights too cheap, in general.
If they've served their full sentence, let them vote. If they get out early, they don't. If you really want to vote, turn down parole and serve your time.
“As a Christian...hard to see a problem with felons voting”
What really SUCKS is that Christians seem to have NO CLUE as to what the Left has in store for them, should they achieve absolute power (and handing them Florida pretty much does that).
So to ‘Christians’, do a bit of research on Stalin’s Russia, or Mao’s China (or even today’s China) to see how Christians are treated once the Left has absolute power.
The idea that ANYONE on our side would hand Florida to the Democrats, with NOTHING IN RETURN to offset it (such as real Voter ID), is just plain sickening, and makes me wonder if they hate their own children, because they certainly hate my children.
Yes. I’ve wondered...how many of these convicted felons bothered to vote before they went to prison? How many of them would defend that right to the death?
I don’t know how many voted before, but none will be defending that right. Felons are barred from serving.
Yes voting felons & firearms, what could go wrong?
I know. My question was a hypothetical as to how many would be willing to defend the right, whether or not in uniform.
If you REALLY want to vote, don't commit any crimes!
Felons. Doing the job Florida voters don’t want to do.
I completely agree. And their sentence was so many months in prison, so many months on parole and lifetime loss of voting rights.
They are allowed to vote in their next life. Loss of voting while on earth was part of their sentence.
I’ve worked on petitions before. Signatures have to match address on voting card. Over half these signatures will be challenged and nullified. If you need 750.000.00 valid signatures you need to get 2 million.
Wont happen...Conservatives anf Tea Party are going to stop this...no problem.
Correction...All the signatures will be challenged and around 60% will be nullified.
I know a few felons - my friend owns rooming houses and the Dept of Corrections send felons to it. A few of the felons are smart - the manager of the rooming house had a DUI felony, but he is a Republican. He likes Trump. He wishes he could have voted. Not all felons will vote D.
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