Crist Differs With McCollum

This came as a surprise to me. Charlie Crist doesn't feel Attorney General Bill McCollum's plan does enough to restore the voting rights of felons.

''My big concern is not the backlog,'' Crist said. ``My concern is justice. My concern is you've paid your debt to society, you've done just that -- paid your debt.''

The Miami Herald reports that Crists wants to automaticly give felons the right to vote. I have heard that violent criminals would not be including. I'm not sure if the Herald reporting is correct. Crist has changed is position. It is a matter of how much.

The majority of the members of the Florida Board of Executive Clemency support the restoring of voting rights. McCollum does not support automatic restoation of felon voter rights. The Palm Beach Post points out a good way from making felons career criminal is restoring their rights.

The Legislature has portrayed itself as tough on crime when refusing to approve automatic restoration of civil rights for ex-felons. But legislators who engage in this demagoguery don't make Floridians safer. In fact, they invite criminal behavior. Ex-felons who are denied occupational licenses and ostracized from society commit new crimes more often. Taxpayers house and feed repeat offenders who could have led productive lives.

The reason Florida has the current restricting felons from voting is because it has passed in the Jim Crow era. The law has been on the book 140 years. It was designed to restrict balacks from voting.