"Giving criminals more of a say in elections is morally wrong — and a political disaster for Republicans to boot."
. . . "For both parties, this is not only a moral issue but also a political one. The push to enfranchise felons started after George W. Bush narrowly edged out Al Gore by 537 votes in the 2000 Florida presidential election. While felons weren’t legally able to vote in that election, thousands still cast their ballots. It was clear that felon votes could make a decisive difference, and Democrats took notice.
"Florida’s 1.5 million felons constitute a substantial voting bloc. Even if felons would vote at rates of only 15 to 20 percent, they still represent 225,000 to 300,000 potential votes. In the 2018 Senate race, Republican Rick Scott received only 10,033 more votes than Democrat Bill Nelson. Republican Ron DeSantis beat Democrat Andrew Gillum in the governor’s race by 32,463 votes. Felons could easily erase Republicans’ razor-thin advantage in Florida.
"In the last election, a ballot referendum did in fact enfranchise Florida felons who have left prison. Since that time, according to presidential adviser Jared Kushner, “We’ve had more ex-felons register as Republicans than Democrats.” But his comments are likely based more on wishful thinking than on actual data. Florida doesn’t provide a breakdown of registrations by criminal status.
"University of Florida professor David Smith conducted a small survey of 61 Floridians who had identified themselves in the media as felons. Thirty-nine were registered: 25 as Democrats, ten without a party affiliation, and four as Republicans." . . .
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