Florida Governor Charlie Crist and the state clemency board approved restoring voting rights to people who have been convicted of a felony. Under the rule change, Florida officials will automatically begin the rights-restoration process upon sentence completion. Florida drew national attention during the disputed 2000 presidential election when many non-convicts were purged from the voter rolls because of errors in the state's prison database. With the rule change, Florida joins forty-seven other states that restore voting rights to individuals who have completed their sentences.

[Learn more about felon disenfranchisement]
[Read The New York Times article]
[Read Gov. Crist's statement on Civil Rights]