Sunday, July 11, 2004

State Goofs On Felon List Again

It's back to the drawing board for the elections offices around the state.
Seems the state made another error on the list just releases. They didn't
include Hispanic felons on the list. The list is overwhelmingly Democrats,
while Hispanic voters in Florida tend to be Republican.
"Not including Hispanic felons that may be voters on the list ... was an
oversight and a mistake," Gov. Jeb Bush said. "And we accept
responsibility and that's why we're pulling it back." Gov. Bush said the
mistake occurred because two databases that were merged to form the
disputed list were incompatible.
The problem in compiling the list was unintentional and unforeseen, said
Nicole de Lara, a spokeswoman for Secretary of State Glenda Hood.
"Nevertheless, Supervisors of Elections are required to uphold their
constitutional obligation" and will find other ways to ensure felons are
removed from the rolls, Hood said in a statement.
Florida is one of a few states that automatically bars convicted felons
from voting unless they successfully petition for their civil rights to be
restored.


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