Member Comment: Voting rights of ex-felons

The following was submitted by a member to the Orlando Sentinel.

 

The article in today’s edition is right on target.  When a person is convicted of a felony…regardless of its nature…and fulfills the sentence affixed by the legal/justice system…that person becomes an ex-felon and should be restored to full citizenship.  One of this nation’s founding principles was “No taxation without representation”.  Any and all ex-felons who are American citizens and pay taxes should have their voting rights automatically restored…without all the bureaucratic barriers.  Many of these ex-felons are veterans and have certainly earned a right to vote.  Several states ignore this founding principle and feel justified in collecting taxes without affording the vote.  This is borderline “criminal” on the part of the state.  The judicial system sets the penalty,  not a bunch of bureaucrats for their own aggrandizement.  It’s time Florida moves into the 21st century.