Restoring felons' rights

Gov. Jeb Bush and Secretary of State Glenda Hood made the right decision to withdraw the erroneous list of 47,000 voters who risked being purged because of supposed felony records. Still, what took them so long?

The list was mismanaged from the start. It was poorly researched, contained thousands of names that didn't belong and was initially withheld from public scrutiny even though that action was clearly a violation of state law. (The outcome has given Floridians tangible proof of the value of having access to public documents.) Then, late last week, state officials discovered they had missed an entire class of potential felons because computers ignored those whose race was marked as Hispanic. That final blow to the list's credibility was too much for the governor, who ordered the names retracted.

We understand how some observers would suspect partisan politics played a role in the way the list was compiled. Hispanic voters in Florida are more likely to vote Republican than black voters, who made up more than 40 percent of those on the list. Both Bush and Hood said the errors were unintentional, and we will take them at their word. Floridians are still awaiting a full explanation, however, of why state officials failed to learn from the 2000 presidential election, when a botched felons list may have affected the outcome.

There is, of course, a way to ensure that this situation never happens again: Routinely restore the right to vote to felons who have paid their debt to society. Currently, felons who have served their sentences have to go through a slow, complex process that ends with a decision by a clemency board made up of the governor and Cabinet. Restoration of rights shouldn't be so difficult or arbitrary.

Even the Florida Department of Corrections acknowledges that rehabilitation is an important part of punishment. Of the four goals listed in the department's mission statement, the final one is: "Prepare offenders for re-entry and release into society." Civic involvement is important to a productive life.

It worked that way for Walter Gibbons, a Vietnam veteran who had his rights restored five years after a 1973 conviction for drug possession. "I had an error in my life," said the Miami Gardens minister, "but that was a long time ago, over 30 years now, and I'm a different person." Inexplicably, Gibbons ended up on the felons list that has now been discarded.

It would be heartening to see Bush lead the effort to write a new law that automatically restores the right to vote to felons who have served their sentences. Such a law would be fair and humane, and it would help Florida repair its damaged reputation.

[Last modified July 14, 2004, 01:00:43]