If this is TRUE, this is SCARY!

Avatar for mrymerry
iVillage Member
Registered: 03-27-2003
If this is TRUE, this is SCARY!
28
Sat, 06-26-2004 - 9:22am

 

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iVillage Member
Registered: 03-18-2000
Thu, 07-01-2004 - 5:06pm
Judge rules for media on Florida voter list
Upholds both 'right to inspect' and 'right to copy'

http://www.cnn.com/2004/ALLPOLITICS/07/01/florida.elections/index.html


A state court judge in Florida ordered Thursday that the board of elections immediately release a list of nearly 50,000 suspected felons to CNN and other news organizations that last month sued the state for access to copies of the list.


The list is used to determine who will be eligible to vote in November's presidential election in the state.


In a statement issued shortly after the ruling was announced, Secretary of State Glenda Hood accepted the ruling as final.


"Now that the court has ruled that statute to be unconstitutional, we will make these records accessible to all interested parties," she said.


Florida is one of a handful of states that bar people convicted of felonies in that state from voting.


In 2000, a similar list was the center of controversy when state officials acknowledged after the election that it contained thousands of names in error, thus barring eligible people from voting.


Many of the barred voters were African-Americans, who traditionally tend to vote Democratic.


Bush won the state by a 537-vote margin and, with it, the presidency.


The lawsuit, filed by CNN and joined by other news organizations, challenged a 2001 statute passed by the Republican-controlled legislature that limited the public's access to the list.


News organizations were allowed to inspect the list, but not make copies of it or take notes from it. (CNN asks Florida court for ineligible voters list)


"The right to inspect without the right to copy is an empty right indeed," said Leon County Circuit Judge Nikki Clark, in her six-page order.


"Whether the public chooses to inspect or copy is not the choice of the governmental agency which has custody of the record. It is the choice of the person who has requested access."


The judge went on to declare the statute unconstitutional because it failed to comply with a constitutional amendment guaranteeing public access to the state's public records.


The state has a right to an automatic 48-hour stay, if its lawyers appeal.


They would have to show cause why the information should continue to be withheld, said Tampa attorney Gregg D. Thomas of the law firm Holland & Knight, which is representing the news organizations.


"I think the long-term impact is that the citizens of Florida will have access to the interactions of their government to make sure that the government, particularly with regard to the right to vote, is conducting itself appropriately."


The list contains the names of 47,763 suspected felons.


The voter-exclusion list was compiled from state clemency reports, lists of felons and other databases, Thomas said.


The ACLU applauded the decision.


"This is good news for voters because now these records will be open and available for public inspection to help protect the right of every eligible voter in Florida," said Howard Simon, executive director of the ACLU of Florida, which also joined the case. "Our interest in this case is to analyze the information on the list to prevent eligible voters from being wrongfully purged from the rolls."


Miami lawyer Joseph Klock Jr., representing the state, did not return a call Thursday.

cl-Libraone~

 


Photobucket&nbs

iVillage Member
Registered: 04-09-2003
Fri, 07-02-2004 - 12:17am
To All:

Can someone let me know why criminals are not allowed to vote in the U.S.?

In Canada they can vote even from jail.

Avatar for papparic
iVillage Member
Registered: 03-27-2003
Fri, 07-02-2004 - 3:31am
In the US, someone in prison is not permitted to vote. They do, however, regain the right to vote once they have served their time or fulfilled their obligation to society. In Florida, during the election of 2000, some 50,000 people's names were removed from the voter's list, not because they were currently serving time, but because they had served time in the past. They even removed voters who had served time in other states, in clear violation of the law.

Initially only 8,000 names were removed from the list but then the list was broadened to anyone whose name or birthdate was similar to someone with a criminal record. (Johnny Jackson Jr. lost his vote because John Fitzgerald Jackson committed a crime in Texas. p. 19) All the details are in "The Best Democracy Money Can Buy' by Greg Palast. He details names and places and those responsible.

There were also huge discrepancies in votes tallied from various counties. Gadsden county, for example, did not have 12 percent of its ballots tallied. Citrus county had only 1/2 of one percent of its ballots not tallied. (Ballots were not tallied if there were incorrect markings on the ballot.) Gadsen county is 52 percent black, Citrus county is 2 percent black. Similar numbers exist for many counties. Black population=high numbers of incorrectly marked ballots. White population=low number of improperly marked ballots. p.37. ibid.

Draw your own conclusions.

Avatar for car_al
iVillage Member
Registered: 03-25-2003
Fri, 07-02-2004 - 3:38am
This list should be published and although it may be embarrassing for some; it will give many the opportunity to challenge any inaccuracies. I'm inclined to believe it is the inaccuracies that the state is trying to conceal.

C

iVillage Member
Registered: 03-18-2000
Fri, 07-02-2004 - 10:21am

The below quote states 8 states in another I read it stated 7. You get the idea though laws vary from state to state.


"The estimates of the number of people who have either temporarily or permanently lost the right to vote due to felony convictions vary, but most agree that the figure hovers around four million. Forty-eight states currently have some form of restriction on the right of felons to vote. The exceptions are Maine and Vermont, which even permit inmates to vote. Thirty-three states disenfranchise felons who are on parole. Eight states deny felons the right to vote for life."


Quote from....... http://www.nationalreview.com/comment/kirsanow200401080830.asp


This is an informative site (PDF format)....


http://www.sentencingproject.org/pdfs/1046.pdf

cl-Libraone~

 


Photobucket&nbs

iVillage Member
Registered: 04-16-2004
Fri, 07-02-2004 - 2:26pm
I don't think that all states do re-instate the person's right to vote. Can anyone clear this up for me?
iVillage Member
Registered: 03-18-2000
Fri, 07-02-2004 - 3:44pm

"Can anyone clear this up for me?"


See post #26


 


Photobucket&nbs

iVillage Member
Registered: 03-18-2000
Fri, 07-16-2004 - 2:46pm
Something is

 


Photobucket&nbs

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