Florida Files Appeal In Felon Voting Case
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UPDATE April 5, 2018: The state of Florida has filed an appeal in U.S. District Court of a ruling by a federal judge that the state's process for returning felons' their voting rights is unconstitutional. U.S. District Judge Mark Walker gave the state until April 26 to rewrite the process through which voting rights can be restored to eliminate bias.
The Wall Street Journal reports Attorney General Pam Bondi filed the appeal on behalf of the clemency board on which she sits. She requested that the judge's stay be removed, or the deadline extended. She insisted the clemency panel has "well-established authority under the law to exercise discretion" in their decisions.
She also argued that 30 days was too little time to revamp a "150-year-old vote-restoration scheme.”
The original policy regarding felon enfranchisement in Florida dates back to 1838, but the current clemency rules were instituted by Gov. Rick Scott in 2011.
UPDATE March 29, 2018: First, in early February a federal district judge ruled that the Florida prohibition on felons voting is unconstitutional and potentially tainted by racial, political or religious bias.
Now, that same judge, U.S. District Judge Mark Walker, has issued an even harsher order which gives Governor Rick Scott only 30 days (until April 26) to devise of a new, fairer system for giving felons their voting rights back.
A measure scheduled to appear on the ballot in November would restore voting rights to 1.2 million former felons. If it passes, the point of contention between Judge Walker and the state of Florida is moot. Still, the latest ruling is a firm rebuke of Governor Scott, who instituted the current controls on felon enfranchisement in 2011.
Countable's original story about he upcoming Florida ballot measure is below.
What’s the story?
On Tuesday the state of Florida received enough signatures, over a million, to put a new amendment to the state constitution on the ballot in November. The Voting Restoration Amendment would allow convicted felons to vote again once they have completed their prison sentence, parole, and probation. Only those convicted of murder or felony sexual offenses would be excluded.
If the ballot measure succeeds, as many as 1 million Florida residents would be eligible to vote again, which could significantly change the political landscape in a crucial swing state.
Of the fifty states, only Maine and Vermont do not restrict convicted felons access to the ballot, even when they are in prison. All other states have some sort of felon disenfranchisement on the books, though that is changing. Maryland allowed released felons to vote in 2016. Virginia allowed former felons to vote for the first time in 2017.
According to the National Conference of State Legislatures, in 14 states felons can vote as soon as they are released from prison. In 22 states they regain their right to vote after the end of parole or probation when all restitution has been paid. In 12 states felons lose their right to vote indefinitely, and must secure clemency before any rights can be restored.
Florida has been one of the 12 states, leaving felons at the mercy of the political leanings of the governor. Think Progress reports former Florida Governor Charlie Crist, via clemency, reinstated the voting rights of 155,000 felons. Governor Rick Scott, since taking office in 2010, has only reinstated the rights of a few thousand felons.
The constitutional amendment would remove that factor and permanently codify felons’ voting rights.
Though felon disenfranchisement has a long history, dating back to England, and may not have been pursued specifically to suppress minority votes, it has achieved that objective, since the prison population across the country is disproportionately Black and Latino.
Despite the likely boost in Democratic voters as more states loosen restrictions on felons’ voting rights, the movement has bipartisan support. Demond Reade, of the Florida Rights Restoration Coalition, said, "We don’t care about how people vote. We just care about them having the opportunity to vote."
What do you think?
Do you support the effort in Florida to restore felons’ right to vote once they’ve "paid their due", or not? Do you prefer the Maine and Vermont model, where they never lose voting rights, or the stricter model where they have to gain clemency?
Tell us in the comments what you think, then use the Take Action button to tell your reps!
— Asha Sanaker
(Photo Credit: Michael Fleshman via Flickr / Creative Commons )
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