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BY BILLY HOUSE
Media General News Service
WASHINGTON -- Seeking any edge in the upcoming presidential, state and local elections, Democrats and Republicans are trying to register and motivate a new pool of potential Florida voters: former felons.
"It is something we are pursuing," said state Democratic Party spokesman Mark Bubriski on Thursday.
"The Florida Democratic Party is 100 percent committed to civil rights and the right to vote is a major part of being a full participant in society," he added.
Not to be outdone, a state Republican Party spokeswoman said the GOP is targeting "ALL Florida citizens" eligible to vote in its registration campaigns.
The spokeswoman, Erin Van Sickle, also was quick to remind that it was Gov. Charlie Crist, a Republican, who last year helped pave the way for ex-felons to regain voting rights more quickly.
"Gov. Crist should be commended for streamlining the restoration of rights process for those who have paid their dues to society, clearly illustrating that this is not a Democrat or Republican issue," said Van Sickle.
What's going on here?
Ex-felony offenders in Florida, suddenly, represent anywhere from 250,000 to more than 500,000 potential new voters in this fall's presidential race, according to estimates.
Exact numbers are evasive, as some felons' imprisonments date from decades ago, and the whereabouts of thousands of them today are uncertain.
But efforts in Florida to see that those ex-offenders are, at least, aware that they can now vote are paralleling those elsewhere, including an effort in Shreveport. La.
Barack Obama supporter Bertha Jimison has posted a notice on the Obama campaign Web site of a "You can Vote Too!" registration drive in that city.
There is no exact date set for the event, but the notice explains it will include a special "round-up" of ex-felons to make them aware they can vote. Also, copies of the Louisiana Election Code will be handed out to counter misinformation she says is being circulated suggesting otherwise.
Jimison said Wednesday she has received no reaction yet from the Obama campaign to an e-mail she sent it about her plans.
Obama campaign spokesman Tommy Vietor had no immediate comment on whether the Illinois senator might support that effort. He pointed out that grassroots supporters can put notices of their events on the Web site "on their own," much like blog entries.
Voting laws regarding ex-offenders vary from state-to-state.
For instance, Kentucky and Virginia have the most restrictive felon voting laws. Ex-felony offenders are prohibited from ever voting.
States like Maine and Vermont let those imprisoned on felonies cast absentee ballots from their cell.
Overall, it has been estimated that more than 5 million former felons today remain barred nationwide from voting in elections, a disenfranchisement some argue disproportionately hits racial minorities and low-income Americans.
In Florida, until last year, most felons who finished prison and probation time had to submit to a drawn-out review and waiting period, and possibly investigations, if they wanted to regain the right to vote.
Over the years, those requirements had become a topic of heated debate, hitting its peak with the disputed 2000 presidential election when some voters were removed from the state's rolls after being misidentified as felons.
The U.S. Supreme Court in 2005 declined to consider overturning Florida's law.
Last year, Crist - who is now talked about as a potential running mate to John McCain - helped pave the way for ex-felons to regain voting and other civil rights more quickly after completing their prison sentences.
Ex-offenders whose crimes were not considered violent now can win restoration of their rights after the state makes sure they have paid any required restitution to victims and have no pending criminal charges.
A longer process remains in place for convicted murderers, sexual offenders, and others violent criminals.
State Democrats and Republicans now claim they are going to help make sure Florida's ex-offenders are aware they have a right to vote. Neither the Democrats' Bubriski nor the GOP's Van Sickle would spell out exact details.
But Miami-Dade Democrats already have started to send representatives to so-called "restoration-of-rights" workshops being held statewide by groups such as the People For the American Way Foundation to inform ex-felons of their rights.
The foundation, which bills itself as non-partisan, also has created a Web site, RestoreMyVote.com, to help ex-offenders in Florida find out whether their voting rights have been restored.
The group's Florida legal counsel, Reggie Mitchell, said Thursday that he has heard some interest in the effort from state Democrats, but not from state Republicans. He said a perception may be that most ex-offenders are more inclined to vote Democratic, but that he believes that isn't necessarily so.
"We have anecdotal knowledge from ex-offenders at our right-restoration workshops -- some are Republican, some Democrat and some independent," he said. "
Muslima Lewis, a founding member of the Florida Rights Restoration Coalition who also works as a senior attorney and racial justice project director with the American Civil Liberties Union of Florida, said exact numbers of ex-offenders eligible to vote are hard to determine, and there remain hurdles to finding them and helping them register.
But Lewis said one move that could make it easier would be for the Crist Administration to include a Voter Registration Application Form with the rights-restoration certificates the Office of Executive Clemency already sends.
A spokeswoman for the office did not return telephone calls.
Reporter Billy House can be reached at bhouse@mediageneral.com or at 1 (202) 662-7673.
Media General News Service
WASHINGTON -- Seeking any edge in the upcoming presidential, state and local elections, Democrats and Republicans are trying to register and motivate a new pool of potential Florida voters: former felons.
"It is something we are pursuing," said state Democratic Party spokesman Mark Bubriski on Thursday.
"The Florida Democratic Party is 100 percent committed to civil rights and the right to vote is a major part of being a full participant in society," he added.
Not to be outdone, a state Republican Party spokeswoman said the GOP is targeting "ALL Florida citizens" eligible to vote in its registration campaigns.
The spokeswoman, Erin Van Sickle, also was quick to remind that it was Gov. Charlie Crist, a Republican, who last year helped pave the way for ex-felons to regain voting rights more quickly.
"Gov. Crist should be commended for streamlining the restoration of rights process for those who have paid their dues to society, clearly illustrating that this is not a Democrat or Republican issue," said Van Sickle.
What's going on here?
Ex-felony offenders in Florida, suddenly, represent anywhere from 250,000 to more than 500,000 potential new voters in this fall's presidential race, according to estimates.
Exact numbers are evasive, as some felons' imprisonments date from decades ago, and the whereabouts of thousands of them today are uncertain.
But efforts in Florida to see that those ex-offenders are, at least, aware that they can now vote are paralleling those elsewhere, including an effort in Shreveport. La.
Barack Obama supporter Bertha Jimison has posted a notice on the Obama campaign Web site of a "You can Vote Too!" registration drive in that city.
There is no exact date set for the event, but the notice explains it will include a special "round-up" of ex-felons to make them aware they can vote. Also, copies of the Louisiana Election Code will be handed out to counter misinformation she says is being circulated suggesting otherwise.
Jimison said Wednesday she has received no reaction yet from the Obama campaign to an e-mail she sent it about her plans.
Obama campaign spokesman Tommy Vietor had no immediate comment on whether the Illinois senator might support that effort. He pointed out that grassroots supporters can put notices of their events on the Web site "on their own," much like blog entries.
Voting laws regarding ex-offenders vary from state-to-state.
For instance, Kentucky and Virginia have the most restrictive felon voting laws. Ex-felony offenders are prohibited from ever voting.
States like Maine and Vermont let those imprisoned on felonies cast absentee ballots from their cell.
Overall, it has been estimated that more than 5 million former felons today remain barred nationwide from voting in elections, a disenfranchisement some argue disproportionately hits racial minorities and low-income Americans.
In Florida, until last year, most felons who finished prison and probation time had to submit to a drawn-out review and waiting period, and possibly investigations, if they wanted to regain the right to vote.
Over the years, those requirements had become a topic of heated debate, hitting its peak with the disputed 2000 presidential election when some voters were removed from the state's rolls after being misidentified as felons.
The U.S. Supreme Court in 2005 declined to consider overturning Florida's law.
Last year, Crist - who is now talked about as a potential running mate to John McCain - helped pave the way for ex-felons to regain voting and other civil rights more quickly after completing their prison sentences.
Ex-offenders whose crimes were not considered violent now can win restoration of their rights after the state makes sure they have paid any required restitution to victims and have no pending criminal charges.
A longer process remains in place for convicted murderers, sexual offenders, and others violent criminals.
State Democrats and Republicans now claim they are going to help make sure Florida's ex-offenders are aware they have a right to vote. Neither the Democrats' Bubriski nor the GOP's Van Sickle would spell out exact details.
But Miami-Dade Democrats already have started to send representatives to so-called "restoration-of-rights" workshops being held statewide by groups such as the People For the American Way Foundation to inform ex-felons of their rights.
The foundation, which bills itself as non-partisan, also has created a Web site, RestoreMyVote.com, to help ex-offenders in Florida find out whether their voting rights have been restored.
The group's Florida legal counsel, Reggie Mitchell, said Thursday that he has heard some interest in the effort from state Democrats, but not from state Republicans. He said a perception may be that most ex-offenders are more inclined to vote Democratic, but that he believes that isn't necessarily so.
"We have anecdotal knowledge from ex-offenders at our right-restoration workshops -- some are Republican, some Democrat and some independent," he said. "
Muslima Lewis, a founding member of the Florida Rights Restoration Coalition who also works as a senior attorney and racial justice project director with the American Civil Liberties Union of Florida, said exact numbers of ex-offenders eligible to vote are hard to determine, and there remain hurdles to finding them and helping them register.
But Lewis said one move that could make it easier would be for the Crist Administration to include a Voter Registration Application Form with the rights-restoration certificates the Office of Executive Clemency already sends.
A spokeswoman for the office did not return telephone calls.
Reporter Billy House can be reached at bhouse@mediageneral.com or at 1 (202) 662-7673.