March 16th, 2002, 09:40 AM
According to Florida law, anyone convicted of a felony and has not had their voting privelage restored by the courts is not allowed to vote:
97.041 Qualifications to register or vote.--
(1)(a) A person may become a registered voter only if that person:
1. Is at least 18 years of age;
2. Is a citizen of the United States;
3. Is a legal resident of the State of Florida;
4. Is a legal resident of the county in which that person seeks to be registered; and
5. Registers pursuant to the Florida Election Code.
(b) A person who is otherwise qualified may preregister on or after that person's 17th birthday and may vote in any election occurring on or after that person's 18th birthday.
(2) The following persons, who might be otherwise qualified, are not entitled to register or vote:
(a) A person who has been adjudicated mentally incapacitated with respect to voting in this or any other state and who has not had his or her right to vote restored pursuant to law.
(b) A person who has been convicted of any felony by any court of record and who has not had his or her right to vote restored pursuant to law.
(3) A person who is not registered may not vote.
However, during the 2000 presidential election, it seems the Florida government (well actually it was Katherine Harris, secretery of state for Florida, campaign director for Florida, AND Bush's campaign chairwoman) paid 4 million dollars for an outside firm, Database Technologies, to remove anyone "suspected" of being a felon from the registered voter lists. This included any actual felons (well they didn't discriminate between those with reinstated voting privelages and those who didn't), as well as those who had similar names, similar social security numbers, and even those whose only similarity between them and an actual felon without voting privelages was the same birthday! All in all, 31% of blacks were prohibited from voting in Florida, a group which usually swings towards the Democrats in elections... Also, 173,000 voters in Florida were banned from the polls. In addition, one state had sent a list of names to the outside firm containing a list of convicted felons who had since moved to Florida. In fact, all of these felons had had their voting privelages reinstated, but which state sent the list? None other than ole Dubya's Texas...
This story barely got any coverage in the US. Tis a shame...
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Co-Owner
Bueno Technologies
97.041 Qualifications to register or vote.--
(1)(a) A person may become a registered voter only if that person:
1. Is at least 18 years of age;
2. Is a citizen of the United States;
3. Is a legal resident of the State of Florida;
4. Is a legal resident of the county in which that person seeks to be registered; and
5. Registers pursuant to the Florida Election Code.
(b) A person who is otherwise qualified may preregister on or after that person's 17th birthday and may vote in any election occurring on or after that person's 18th birthday.
(2) The following persons, who might be otherwise qualified, are not entitled to register or vote:
(a) A person who has been adjudicated mentally incapacitated with respect to voting in this or any other state and who has not had his or her right to vote restored pursuant to law.
(b) A person who has been convicted of any felony by any court of record and who has not had his or her right to vote restored pursuant to law.
(3) A person who is not registered may not vote.
However, during the 2000 presidential election, it seems the Florida government (well actually it was Katherine Harris, secretery of state for Florida, campaign director for Florida, AND Bush's campaign chairwoman) paid 4 million dollars for an outside firm, Database Technologies, to remove anyone "suspected" of being a felon from the registered voter lists. This included any actual felons (well they didn't discriminate between those with reinstated voting privelages and those who didn't), as well as those who had similar names, similar social security numbers, and even those whose only similarity between them and an actual felon without voting privelages was the same birthday! All in all, 31% of blacks were prohibited from voting in Florida, a group which usually swings towards the Democrats in elections... Also, 173,000 voters in Florida were banned from the polls. In addition, one state had sent a list of names to the outside firm containing a list of convicted felons who had since moved to Florida. In fact, all of these felons had had their voting privelages reinstated, but which state sent the list? None other than ole Dubya's Texas...
This story barely got any coverage in the US. Tis a shame...
------------------
Co-Owner
Bueno Technologies