Florida: Major Backlog - and It's Just Going to Get Worse
After the Clemency Board's April action making voting easier for most people convicted of nonviolent felonies, Florida hoped to process all newly eligible individuals in time to make it to the polls in the presidential primarily on January 29 - but at this point, "that's not likely," the St. Petersburg Times reported. Nearly 300,000 former non-violent offenders have been identified as eligible to vote, but in six months time only 34,444 citizens' rights have been restored. "It can always be better," said Gov. Charlie Crist. "We continue to chip away at it and work at it. It's a new day in Florida." The Florida Parole Commission processes about 7,000 cases a month. The prison system reported that 3,000 new people are released every month, making it seemingly years to resolve the pending cases. "This just highlights the shortcomings of these new rules," said Muslima Lewis, an attorney with the ACLU and director of the Florida Rights Restoration Coalition.
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