I've been phone banking and the enthusiasm I'm hearing is awesome.

[progree]

13. Prisoners in Florida are disproportionately black and Hispanic

Blacks make up 48 percent of all Florida inmates -- far exceeding their 15.5 percent share of the state's population.

Hispanics comprise 16.8 percent of the state's 16 million residents but make up 13 percent of the inmates in jails and prisons.

So Hispanics are a little bit underrepresented, while blacks are overwhelmingly overrepresented in the inmate population.

-- http://articles.orlandosentinel.com/2001-07-25/news/0107250314_1_prison-or-jail-prison-population-blacks-in-florida

In total blacks + Hispanics are nearly 65% of the jail and prison population (48% + 16.8%), leaving only 35% for non-Hispanic white, Asian, and native American, and whatever else.

On edit: well darn, it says

Whites make up almost 80 percent of Florida's population and 46.5 percent of its prison population.

I don't quite get it how their numbers add up -- they do say "Hispanics can be of any race"

Well, blacks = 48%, whites = 46.5%, black + white total = 94.5%... so apparently the 46.5% figure for whites includes white Hispanics. And some Hispanics are also black....

I know this is not the same as ex-felon proportions, but probably pretty close.

Anyhow, everything I've ever read is that keeping ex-felons from voting is a tactic by the Repukes to tilt the electorate their way -- disproportionately keeping minorities, especially blacks, from voting. And that it's mostly red states by far that have ex-felon disenfranchisement.