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This year it became harder for former felons in Florida to get their voting rights restored. Forty-seven states have a system to automatically restore a convicts civil rights, but not Florida. A move in March ended automatic restoration for nonviolent offenders, but as Whitney Ray tells us, a new study is giving ammunition for activists who say restoring civil rights could low taxes and makes the state safer.

There are a million Floridians who can’t vote, run for office, or serve on a jury, because they’ve lost their civil rights. They committed felonies but their punishment long outlasts their prison sentence.

In March, Governor Rick Scott and the state Clemency Board voted to end a four year old rule allowing automatic restoration of rights for nonviolent offenders.

But now a report from the Florida Parole Commission is shedding light on how that decision might affect crime and taxes.

One in three ex-felons in Florida commits new crimes within three years of their release. But once their civil rights are restored the recidivism rate drops drastically. The Parole Commission study found just one in 10 ex-felons reoffends after their rights are restored.

Still Attorney General Pam Bondi, a former prosecutor, says rights need to be earned.

“I still firmly believe having your rights restored should be earned not automatic. I’ve said that for years,” said Bondi.

Convicts can still have their rights restore. They just have to wait five years then plea their case before the state clemency board. Human Rights Activist Mark Schlakman says the process needs to be reviewed.

“The governor and cabinet have an opportunity to take another look at the policy they implemented,” said Schlakman.

Florida spends more than two billion tax dollars a year locking up criminals. Activists and fiscally conservatives say restoring their civil rights will save taxpayer money and curb the state’s crime rate.

The next Clemency Board meeting isn’t until September 22nd. There is still no word if the board will consider this new report then.