George Will, well known conservative columnist, has now come out favoring the right for felons to vote.
In an opinion published in The Washington Post, Will states that in Florida, with a low threshold for felonious acts, someone who gets into a bar fight, or steals property worth $300, or drives without a license for a third time can be disenfranchised for life.
Republicans have pushed this type of legislation, and why? George Will points out that more than 1 in 13 African Americans nationally are similarly
disenfranchised, as are 1 in 5 of Florida’s African American adults.
Because African Americans overwhelmingly vote Democratic, ending the
disenfranchisement of felons could become yet another debate swamped by
partisanship, particularly in Florida, the largest swing state, where
close elections are common: Republican Gov. Rick Scott’s margins of
victory in 2010 and 2014 were 1.2 and 1.1 percent, respectively. 537 votes made George W. Bush president.
Republicans are acting typically of those on top of hierarchies – any measures used to allow them to gain what benefits them are fine and acceptable.
https://www.washingtonpost.com/opinions/theres-no-good-reason-to-stop-felons-from-voting/2018/04/06/88484076-3905-11e8-8fd2-49fe3c675a89_story.html?noredirect=on&utm_term=.052a49481aef
