The reality of the suppressive nature of Florida's voting laws became painfully clear recently to Palm Beach County high school civics teacher Jill Cicciarelli.

What did she do? Well, for starters, she registered 50 of her students to vote without first registering with the state as a "third-party voter registration organization," and the completed registration forms were not turned in within 48 hours.

Such are the obstacles the Republican-dominated Florida Legislature put in place to suppress new voter registration --- and prevent the re-election of President Barack Obama but let me not go there just yet.

Ms. Cicciarelli's name was forwarded to the Florida Secretary of State's Office for engaging in unlawful voter registration. She's also subject to a $50 fine for each late registration, up to $1,000.

Hmmm...What an incredible teaching and learning moment for Jill Cicciarelli and her students. I wonder what they think about our government in action. What say you?