To a fair amount of outcry (given the closely contested nature of this state in recent elections), Florida has recently made the decision to allow ex-Felons - i.e. those who have served their punishment – to regain their right to vote.
I guess I learned a lesson in civics by reading this story – I didn’t even know that-with the exception of federal firearms restrictions-ex-Felons permanently lost their citizenship (right to vote). So I guess it is just (now) Florida and 8 other states that now allow some mechanism for re-enfranchisement of ex-Felons.
To me not allowing ex-Felons to vote seems a little counterproductive. For this segment of the population probably knows far more – and at a much more intimate detail – about the workings and the machinery of government than any other group. They certainly have more knowledge than your average high school civics student – well at least about the Executive and Judiciary Branches anyway.
And just maybe this is why the government is perpetually lowering the bar on what is serious enough to constitute a felony. Shove a hall monitor (felony abuse of a public servant), neglect a pet (felony animal abuse), use an open-access wireless network (felony computer access) – and you too can be stricken from the voter roles and no longer be a “problem constituent” that can vote me out of office.
So who are these evil felons? I’ve written about a few of late, but let me add a few others:
Nelson Mandela
Chuck Berry (multiple convictions)
Martha Steward
Tommy Chong (of Cheech and Chong Fame – at age 65 – ironically enough for “felony conspiring to distribute drug paraphernalia” – i.e. selling ordinary glass of the wrong shape)
Shaquada Cotton (16-year-old hall monitor shover)
Desre’e Watson (a 6-year-old kindergarten student)
…and every political revolutionary that ever existed – think George Washington
Sounds like these people should have the right to vote, have ’bout you Jeb?
