The first time I heard about this claim was in Michale Moores book 'Stupid White Men'
It tells you something about the Deomcrats that some of the most likely people to vote for are convicts...
THE TRUTH:
In 1997, the Miami mayorial race had set something of a local record for voting scandals, due to votes being cast by felons (and some folks who were barred from voting because they were, well, dead.). The Miami Herald led the outcry with an investigation that won a Pulitzer
Miami Herald: SourceEx-felons were therefore weeded out in time for the Presidential election by the Florida Legislature. The important thing to note is that Florida sent notices to voters on the lists, allowing them plenty of time in which to contest the claim that they were a felon. Eight thousand voters did so, and were restored to the voting rosters in time to cast their votes.
Source: AlterNetThe figure of black voters on the list was 3% (not 31%, as Moore would have you believe) - And this figure comes from a major critic of the efforts to identify ex-felons.
Source: Greg PalastIn any case... Moore's case is that CONVICTS tend to vote democrat. The people whose names should NOT have been on the list are not CONVICTS, but people whose names were CONFUSED with a convicts.. so their voting behaviour would tend to mirror the overall pattern... (i.e. 50% Democrat, 50% Republican)
In fact some counties IGNORED the lists and many convicts voted illegally... tilting the vote in favour of the democrats!
Source: Commondreams.org