A person convicted of a crime may have long ago exited the prison cell and completed probation. Her voting rights, however, remain locked in a dark crypt. Only the state has the key -- but the state has swallowed it.

Judge Mark Walker, upon ruling that Florida's voting system for felons -- which bars them from participating in elections unless they receive executive clemency -- is unconstitutional. Florida is one of a handful of states where felons’ voting rights aren’t automatically restored after they serve their sentence.