Parkland Confessed Shooter Nikolas Cruz Registered To Vote From Jail

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MIAMI (CBSMiami/AP) -- The man accused of gunning down 17 people at Marjory Stoneman Douglas High School registered to vote while behind bars awaiting trial.

The Sun Sentinel reports Nikolas Cruz registered as a Republican on July 25.

He's charged with 17 counts of first-degree murder and 17 counts of attempted murder for the Valentine's Day massacre at the Parkland school.

While Cruz has confessed to the killings, he is still awaiting trial.

Andrew Pollack, the father of a victim, tweeted Saturday that he's "sick to his stomach" Cruz was allowed to register in jail and criticized Broward Sheriff Scott Israel for allowing it. But Cruz hasn't been convicted of a crime and was eligible to vote this year.

Sheriff's spokeswoman Veda Coleman-Wright says the supervisor of elections controls the process. Once inmates are registered, absentee ballots are mailed to them in jail.