Why Felon Voting Rights Matter, by the Numbers (Rick Scott's Worst Nightmare)

We've told you about Rick Scott's new ban on felon voting rights, which returns Florida to a racist era of stamping out African-American votes. Many people have suggested that by prohibiting felons from voting for five years after completing their sentences, Scott is trying to cut down on Democratic voting...

By Lisa Rab

March 17, 2011

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We've told you about Rick Scott's new ban on felon voting rights, which returns Florida to a racist era of stamping out African-American votes. Many people have suggested that by prohibiting felons from voting for five years after completing their sentences, Scott is trying to cut down on Democratic voting power.

Whatever his motivation, the numbers speak for themselves:

In last November's gubernatorial race, Scott won by a scant 61,550 votes.

Attorney General Pam Bondi, who championed the new felon voting ban, won by 701,491 votes.

According to the advocacy group the Sentencing Project, the estimated number of disenfranchised felons who could not vote in Florida's 2004 presidential election (before Gov. Charlie Crist made it easier to have their voting rights restored) was 960,000.

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