Free Republic

The Florida House of Representatives on Wednesday passed a bill that would require former felons to pay all court fees and costs in addition to restitution before becoming eligible to vote. The measure passed 71-45, with the vote along party lines. The proposal's main sponsor, state Rep. James Grant, R-Tampa, argued that the bill -- which would not restore voting rights to those convicted of murder or felony sexual offenses -- helps clarify a referendum on the issue that voters approved in November. He stressed that requiring ex-felons to pay the debts was not unconstitutional and not discriminatory, the Tallahassee...

By the age of 16, Muhamad As-saddique Abdul-Rahman was already a felon. Thirty-seven years later, he is ready to be called something else -- a voter. When Virginia Gov. Terry McAuliffe announced his plan in April to restore voting rights to more than 200,000 felons, Abdul-Rahman, who spent nearly two decades behind bars for armed robbery before struggling with drug and alcohol abuse, immediately logged online to check on his voting status. He discovered that, for the first time in his life, he was eligible to vote. "I was not whole when I came out of prison, both politically and...