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How many states don't allow convicted felons to resume the right to vote after serving out their sentences?

It is my understanding that there are three states that currently allow felons to vote while they are still in prison serving out their sentences. I think there are 31 states that don't allow felons to vote while they are still on probation, but all the other categories of felons and what they are allowed to do in terms of their right to vote, I'm curious about. I know that the new Republican governor of Florida wants to give previously convicted felons the right to vote in his state despite the fact that this strict prohibition is what delivered the Florida electoral vote to George W. Bush in 2000. According to Greg Palast's book, THE BEST DEMOCRACY MONEY CAN BUY, the firm of CHOICE POINT was retained by Katherine Harris to put together a voter disqualification list that was so loosely and sloppily put together, that it disqualified voters who never were convicted felons but were listed as such when they showed up to vote. Karl Rove and governor Jeb Bush knew of this angle. Totally wrong Janice H. !!! Go do your research before you spout off your falacious fascist assertions! I never whine over spilt milk, but when it comes to spilt blood, I'll certainly make an exception. The palpable curse that hangs over this country as a result of the filthy politics of Karl Rove, is evident in the blood of our valiant warriors being spilled in this bogus war started by a BOGUS ADMINISTRATION that used and even perveted Florida's voting laws to steal the White House! If felons "never" resume the right to vote, then how did Florida resident Charles "Chuck" Colson get his right to vote re-instated by Florida governor Jeb Bush?

Public Comments

1. i thought that was federal law.
2. VOTING RIGHTS DENIED TO ALL WITH FELONY CONVICTIONS, UNLESS GOVERNMENT APPROVES INDIVIDUAL RIGHTS RESTORATION: --Florida --Kentucky: In 2001, The Legislature passed a bill that requires the Department of Corrections to inform and aid eligible offenders in completing the restoration process to regain their voting rights. --Virginia: Felons convicted of nonviolent offenses can apply for the restoration of their voting rights after three years; felons convicted of violent offenses must wait five years.
3. It is a federal statute that persons convicted of a felony may not vote. Ever. This means 50 states do not allow convicted felons to vote. By the way it is way past time to quit whining about the vote in 2000. You lost get over it.
4. Well, I was about to start doing Internet searches for Felon voting rights, but as I finished reading your question, I decided it was unneeded. First, Florida was so tight in 2000, EVERYTHING delivered the electoral votes. As long as a group, event or circumstance benefited Bush, then it delivered. Remember the butterfly ballots? Ralph Nader? The improper absentee ballots from military stationed overseas (that Gore wisely chose not to contest!)? The disenfranchised voters who were turned away? If any of those things hadn't happened, we might be enjoying the second term of Al Gore (or the first term of President Colin Powell, after the disastrous Gore Administration.) Second, there's no guarantee that felons would have turned the election. Elections are complicated games, and they are played by very smart people. If Felons can vote, the parties take that into consideration while campaigning. There's no telling how different groups being able to vote would have affected the campaign strategies, or the undecided voters when they went to the polls. Third, the problem wasn't the dishonesty of the election. It was the incompetence of the administration the dishonesty put into power. If Bush had won in a landslide, he would still be a terrible president. If he had been a better president, not as many people would care about the legitimacy of Florida in 2000, or Ohio in 2004. And finally, banning any group from voting is a bad idea. Felons will never take over the government (No jokes, please!) All such bans do is alienate people.