ABA president: Restore vote to all ex-felons

It is time for Florida to do away with laws that permanently bar people with convictions from participating in our democratic process. One of the most important privileges we enjoy in America is our right to vote. When we were students, we all learned that, as citizens of a representative democracy, our vote is our voice. Florida's on-going efforts to purge ''suspected felons'' from state voter rolls threatens to silence not only those that have served time in prison, but also thousands of eligible voters with no criminal records -- the vast majority of whom appear to be African Americans. [more]