Cruz not only one to register to vote in jail

Parkland school shooting suspect Nikolas Cruz was one of at least four accused killers who registered to vote, or voted, while behind bars in Broward County, records show.

Cruz registered as a Republican on July 25 while awaiting trial on 17 charges of murder and 17 charges of attempted murder in the Feb. 14 mass shooting at Marjory Stoneman Douglas High School.

It won’t be known whether Cruz cast an absentee ballot until the latest voting records are released later this year.

The recent revelation triggered an angry response across social media, including that of Andrew Pollack whose 17-year-old daughter, Meadow, was among those killed.

“Just because something is technically legal doesn't make it just or ethical,” Pollack posted on Facebook, Monday. “Everyone knew this notorious killer had just admitted to 17 murders. Outrageous to go out of the way to register that thing to vote when my daughter can no longer even breathe.”

But Cruz was not the first inmate to register to vote while at the Broward County Jail.

Corey Michael Golden, 24, registered as a Democrat on Sept. 7 but there was no record of him voting. He is scheduled for trial Jan. 21 in the stabbing death of Simon Oloruntola in Davie in 2012.

Jonathan Gordon, 35, registered independent in 2016. He voted in the 2016 general election and the 2018 primary with absentee ballots while awaiting trial for the shooting death of Ivan Brandt in Tamarac in 2015.

Karari Ritchie, 29, registered as an independent in 2007 while in jail on a misdemeanor trespassing charge. He voted at the polls in 2008, after his release on bond. He voted again in 2016 by absentee ballot while awaiting trial in the fatal stabbing of employee Tikkitress Johnson during an armed robbery of a Taco Bell in Oakland Park in 2009.

Voter registration records did not show how many inmates were registered before they were released from jail on bond.

The Broward Sheriff’s Office said taking away the voting rights of an eligible person awaiting trial is illegal.