Monday, April 09, 2007
Editorial: Following Florida's example
Now only Kentucky and Virginia continue to cling to a Jim Crow-era system that denies ex-felons the right to vote.
From the RoundTable blog
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With Florida's commendable decision to restore voting rights to most felons, Virginia becomes one of only two states left in the nation that automatically revoke such a fundamental civil right, even after convicted felons have served their full sentences.
Only Kentucky also continues to automatically revoke the right of ex-offenders to vote.
Florida Gov. Charlie Crist recently persuaded the state clemency board to change its rules to grant automatic reinstatement of voting rights to most nonviolent offenders.
It was a long overdue change. Florida has the highest numbers of disenfranchised felons in the nation -- the majority of whom are black. Nearly a million ex-felons couldn't vote in Florida.
The system led to serious problems in the 2000 presidential election when thousands of eligible voters were removed from the roles in an error-filled purge meant to remove felons.
It is no accident that the ban, which dated back to the Reconstruction era, disproportionately affected African-Americans.
"Like Florida, many Southern states struggled through the Jim Crow era, resisting calls to change laws, continuing to deny the restoration of civil rights," Crist said. "Since then, most states have realized the historical underpinning for not repealing these unjust, unfair laws. It is time for Florida to make the same realization and leave the ranks of this offensive minority."
Changing the system in Virginia would not be a mere matter of persuading four of five board members to vote to rewrite the rules, as Crist did.
It would take a constitutional amendment in Virginia. It's long past time for the General Assembly to start that process.
Some nonviolent felons can get their right to vote reinstated in Virginia, but it's a cumbersome process. Although Gov. Mark Warner did his best to streamline the procedure, it should be automatic.
Someone convicted of a felony made a serious mistake. But society has a powerful interest in making sure such a mistake doesn't forever prevent a person from eventually becoming a productive citizen.
Part of the rehabilitation process should include the restoration of civil liberties, including the right to vote.
Practically every other state in the nation has seen how counterproductive and unnecessarily punitive a lifetime ban is.
The General Assembly's ongoing refusal to address this Jim Crow-era legacy of a racist past is a shameful indication of just how hollow the recent "expression of regret" for slavery actually was.
Virginia should waste no time in joining Florida by leaving the ranks of this "offensive minority."
