MONTREAL: Some five-dozen residents of the US state of Florida appeared in a hearing before Governor Jeb Bush in March to explain why they should be allowed to regain certain civil rights, including the right to vote.
But those citizens were "berated about their personal debt" to society or "because they mistakenly voted" in a previous election, says one eyewitness to the hearing. "Everything comes into play, from what medication a person is taking... it's truly shocking and gut-wrenching," says Courtenay Strickland of the American Civil Liberties Union (ACLU).
Four times a year, Bush, brother of President George W. Bush, and three other members of the Board of Executive Clemency hold hearings in which some of the 600,000 Florida residents who have lost their civil rights after being convicted of a felony can apply to have them reinstated.
Florida is one of seven US states where convicted felons who have served out their sentences have to apply to get their rights restored. About one-half - 28 - of the March 18 petitioners were successful, leaving roughly 35,000 more who have applied for restoration and are awaiting a reply or notice of a hearing, according to Strickland, director of the ACLU's Florida Voting Rights Project.
But according to early estimates, another 40,000 residents risk losing their voting privileges before November's presidential election. That is the number of former felons on a list distributed by Florida elections officials to supervisors who are responsible for compiling local voters' lists in the state's 67 counties.
Such an outcome would recall the disgraced 2000 election, which was finally decided, in favour of George W. Bush, by the US Supreme Court. Thousands of Florida residents - disproportionately African-Americans, who traditionally back the opposition Democratic Party - were wrongly stopped from voting in that election.
And it is only one of many worries for voting rights advocates heading into the final stretch before the November vote. A newly formed coalition of groups said this week it is particularly worried about: the confusing voter registration and identification requirements; misused and malfunctioning voting machines; and inaccurate counting of ballots cast by voters who may be voting in the wrong local districts.
Led by the League of Women Voters and the Leadership Conference on Civil Rights, the coalition wants states to provide complete lists of registered voters to each precinct so that local officials can deal with eligible voters who turn up in the wrong precinct.
It is also pressing for better training for volunteer poll workers on registration and identification rules and on how to use voting machines. The coalition is not even delving into the controversial area of electronic, touch-screen voting, which one expert who evaluated systems used in 37 states likened to "Swiss cheese".
Thanks to the Florida Election Reform Act of 2001 that state is now blocked from contracting out the compiling of the electoral rolls - which resulted in a number of lawsuits against the state following the 2000 election that was finally decided by 537 votes - and has developed a central database of voters. -Dawn/The Inter Press News Service.
