David Price: “So the problem is that thousands of Floridians were purged who had no felony convictions. They were unjustly denied…”

“So the problem is that thousands of Floridians were purged who had no felony convictions. They were unjustly denied their right to vote. Just think about how frustrating and disillusioning it would be to show up at the polling station and be told you could not vote when you have nothing to compromise your eligibility. So I want to inform my colleagues that I will be introducing a bill next week that will deal specifically with this problem. And I appreciate my colleague underscoring this unsolved problem from the Florida debacle. My bill would ensure that no American is ever denied the right to vote in a future election because he or she is mistakenly labeled as having committed a felony. It would require States to send that notification that our colleague says was never sent, send that notification no later than 30 days prior to an election, informing people convicted of a felony that they have been removed from the voter list and explaining the reasons why. And then the person who is notified can respond. This would let them know about their rights to appeal the decision. It would require the State rule on the appeal. And if the appeal is still pending at the time of election, my bill would say they can cast a provisional ballot. That is legislation that I believe would fill a remaining problem from the Florida experience.”