You may think there is no reason to emulate voters from Florida, who probably just elected (recounts pending) a race-baiting Governor and a Senator whose company was the largest perpetrator of Medicaid fraud in American history.

But give them this: While New Jerseyans believe that all voices should be heard, Floridians fought to make it happen Tuesday.

In an election night landslide, the Sunshine State passed Amendment 4, a ballot initiative that restores voting rights to 1.4 million former felons who have already paid their societal debt, provided they didn't commit murder or a sex crime.

It's a reminder that New Jersey, to the everlasting shame of our Legislative leaders, has been stuck in neutral in its bid to increase the franchise for far too long.

Consider: In our state - where the law has forbidden anyone in prison, on parole, or on probation from voting since 1844 - there are 94,000 people who cannot vote. Disenfranchisement laws vary throughout the country, but even citadels of progressive thought - such as North Dakota and Utah - are among the 14 states that at least restore voting rights for those on parole and probation.

Not New Jersey. We are one of 18 states that restore the franchise only after sentences have been completed, and even Gov. Murphy agrees that it's time to secure the most basic right of citizenship in some cases.

But a bill written by Sens. Ron Rice (D-Essex) and Sandra Cunningham (D-Hudson) that brings the law up to date has been collecting dust in committee since March without a single hearing.

No doubt, it's a hard sell to restore the franchise for the 21,000 people currently incarcerated - only Maine and Vermont allow prison inmates to vote - but let's start with the easy stuff.

There are 73,000 felons in our state on probation and parole. Why would we deny voting rights to 15,000 parolees who have already paid their debt with a prison sentence? And why would anyone deny the vote to 58,000 people on probation when they have never even been in jail?

Here's what helped drive the Florida measure, which had support from everyone from the Koch Brothers to Ben and Jerry: According to the Florida Parole Commission, individuals with felony convictions who have had their voting rights restored are three times less likely to re-offend.

When a felon is released on parole, we'll give him back his car keys and his condo. We expect him to pay his monthly taxes and bills. We trust him to return to society and live responsibly. So why would we want to draw the line at allowing him to participate in democracy?

Former Attorney General John Farmer Jr. put it best: "Other than retribution," he said, "there is no legitimate penological policy advanced by stripping convicted criminals of their right to vote.

"The goal of 'correction' -- to return convicted criminals to society, prepared to be productive citizens -- is hindered completely by taking away the most fundamental attribute of citizenship: the right to participate in the American experiment in self-governance."

Former Justice William Brennan was more blunt: Felony disenfranchisement, he once said, is "the very antithesis of rehabilitation."

Disenfranchisement, we hasten to add, has racist origins: The Black Codes employed by the South after the Civil War deprived the freedman from voting, so "crimes" such as loitering were enforced to subjugate former slaves. These methods persist, as drug laws have banished millions of men of color from the mainstream and created the prison industrial complex.

So Florida did the right thing. It hardly matters that they may soon have a governor and senator (Ron DeSantis and Rick Scott) who didn't support the amendment, because 64 percent of the electorate did. Assuming our Legislature is paying attention, Florida has given New Jersey the impetus to take the next step.

This wasn't a red vs blue question. It was about doing the right thing by allowing people who've paid their debt to society to participate in the elections that affect them and everyone else. — John Legend (@johnlegend) November 7, 2018

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