On Tuesday, Jan. 8, 2019, Amendment 4 to Florida’s constitution went into effect, restoring voting privileges to up to 1.5 million people convicted of felonies, which represents more than 17.9% of potential black voters in Florida. In Nov. 2018,...
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On Tuesday, Jan. 8, 2019, Amendment 4 to Florida’s constitution went into effect, restoring voting privileges to up to 1.5 million people convicted of felonies, which represents more than 17.9% of potential black voters in Florida.

In Nov. 2018, Florida voters approved the felon voting amendment by almost 65%, or more than five million Florida residents, which is more votes than any candidate on the ballot received. The amendment states that after felons have completed of all terms of the sentence including parole or probation, restoration of voting privileges is automatic. Once eligible, former felons may register to vote. Those with felony murder or sex crime convictions are not eligible for voting restoration.

Before Amendment 4, Florida banned people from voting even after all sentencing requirements were completed. Florida had the country’s largest disenfranchised population–1,686,318 people, or 10.43% of its potential voting population. Republican Governor Rick Scott, who served from Jan. 4, 2011 to Jan. 7, 2019, had instituted an application review process to work around the law that could take up to seven years and did not guarantee voting restoration. As of Oct. 2018, only 3,005 applicants of 30,000 were re-enfranchised under Governor Scott’s system.

Clarence Office, a liaison for the Department of Veterans Affairs who completed the requirements of his felony drug conviction, registered to vote on Tuesday, stating, “It was an injustice not to be able to vote… I’m a totally different person now – just like a lot of other people who have come to register.” Office brought his friend, Jerry Armstrong, who also completed his felony conviction sentence requirements and registered to vote for the first time at the age of 45. Armstrong stated, “I never voted a day in my life. I feel like I am a United States citizen.”

David Ayala, who lost his vote at age 16 with a felony drug conviction, registered to vote on Tuesday, stating, “I lost my right to vote before I was even eligible to vote, and before I knew how important voting is.” He added that not being able to vote for his wife, Aramis Ayala, the state’s first African-American state attorney elected in Nov. 2016, “was a dark moment, not being able to participate in her moment of history… I knocked on doors, made calls, but wasn’t able to do the most important thing you can do.” His wife added, “I believe in a wider democracy. When a debt is paid, a debt is paid.”

Ron DeSantis, Florida’s new governor who was also elected in Nov. 2018, stated in Dec. 2017 that the amendment should not go into effect until “implementing language” is approved by the Legislature and signed by DeSantis, which would have pushed voter registration until at least the Mar. 5, 2019 legislative session. DeSantis stated, “It’s not delaying it–the people spoke on it. But I think it’s got to be implemented the way that the people intended. And I don’t think they wanted to see any sex offenders fall through the cracks.”

It remains to be seen how many newly-eligible people will register to vote. Daniel A. Smith, Chairman of the Political Science Department at the University of Florida, stated, “I’m kind of skeptical that we’re going to see this big jump in terms of new registrations. I think it’s going to be a slow trickle, and it’s probably going to be realized over the next several years.” Individual counties reported spikes in voter registration on Tuesday. 208 people registered in Hillsborough County, for example, a county that registered 612 people total last year.

10 states permanently ban some ex-felons from voting, including Florida, which still bans murderers and sex crime perpetrators from voting even after all prison, probation, parole, and fines. 

 (via Vote Restored to up to 1.5 Million with Felony Convictions in Florida - ProCon.org)

Source: procon.org

When Florida voters go to the polls for the Nov. 6 election, they’ll be determining the fates of over a million currently disenfranchised voters in their state. The Voting Rights Restoration for Felons Initiative, a constitutional amendment...
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When Florida voters go to the polls for the Nov. 6 election, they’ll be determining the fates of over a million currently disenfranchised voters in their state. The Voting Rights Restoration for Felons Initiative, a constitutional amendment championed by the group Floridians for a Fair Democracy, would automatically restore the vote to people with felony convictions who have completed prison, parole, and probation, except for those convicted of murder or sexual offenses. Of the more than six million people across the United States who have lost the ability to vote due to a felony conviction, over 1.5 million currently reside in Florida, accounting for 10% of the adult population in the state.

The initiative is opposed by Richard Harrison, Executive Director of Floridians for a Sensible Voting Rights Policy, who says the proposed changes are too broad: “Other than murder and sexual felonies, it treats all other felonies as though they were the same. It’s a blanket, automatic restoration of voting rights… [Y]our only choice will be an all or nothing, yes or no vote on the amendment. If it passes, neither you nor anyone else will ever be allowed to consider the specifics of the crime or the post-release history of the criminal before that new voter registration card is issued.”

Proponents argue that the current system disproportionately affects people of color and unfairly punishes those who have already served their sentences. Desmond Meade, chairman of the committee that collected the signatures to get the amendment on the ballot, is a convicted felon and law school graduate who originally attempted to have his vote restored in Florida in 2006. Meade says the amendment would ensure that people with felony convictions “who’ve made past mistakes, served their time and paid their debts to society are given a second chance and the opportunity to earn back their ability to vote.”

A University of North Florida survey found 71% support among likely voters. In Florida, passing a constitutional amendment requires 60% approval by voters

(via Felon Voting Restoration Amendment on the Ballot in Florida - ProCon.org)

Source: procon.org

New York joins 14 other states and DC in allowing convicted felons who have served their sentences to vote before parole is completed. Two states allow convicted felons to vote from prison; three restore voting rights after completion of parole; 20...
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New York joins 14 other states and DC in allowing convicted felons who have served their sentences to vote before parole is completed. Two states allow convicted felons to vote from prison; three restore voting rights after completion of parole; 20 allow voting after completion of parole and probation; and in 10 states people with felony convictions may permanently lose their vote.

There are an estimated 6.1 million felons in the United States who cannot vote due to their felony convictions. 

 (via Cuomo Revives Felon Voting Debate by Allowing Parolees to Vote - ProCon.org)

Source: procon.org

On Feb. 1, 2018 a federal judge ruled that Florida’s system of disenfranchising people convicted of a felony was unconstitutional. The ruling by US District Judge Mark Walker found that Florida’s system of permanently disenfranchising everyone...
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On Feb. 1, 2018 a federal judge ruled that Florida’s system of disenfranchising people convicted of a felony was unconstitutional.

The ruling by US District Judge Mark Walker found that Florida’s system of permanently disenfranchising everyone convicted of a felony unless they petition the Governor to receive executive clemency violates the First Amendment right to free association and free expression, due to the arbitrary nature of the executive clemency process. The ruling also found that Florida’s executive clemency process to restore voting rights to some convicted felons violates the Fourteenth Amendment right to due process and equal protection under the law.

In his ruling, Judge Walker stated that “Florida’s vote-restoration scheme is crushingly restrictive,” and “crumbles under strict scrutiny because it risks – if not covertly authorizes the practice of – arbitrary and discriminatory vote-restoration.” It is a system, according to the Judge, that “allows government officials to ‘do whatever [they] want.’”

(via Florida Felon Voting Ban System Found Unconstitutional - ProCon.org)

Source: procon.org

Nebraska Governor Pete Ricketts ® vetoed a bill that would have allowed convicted felons to vote immediately after completing their term of incarceration, parole, and probation. The Nebraska Legislature had passed the bill (LB75) three days earlier...
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Nebraska Governor Pete Ricketts ® vetoed a bill that would have allowed convicted felons to vote immediately after completing their term of incarceration, parole, and probation. The Nebraska Legislature had passed the bill (LB75) three days earlier in a 27-13 vote.

Under Nebraska law, convicted felons must wait two years after completion of their sentences before they are able to register to vote. Legislative Bill 75 would have removed this waiting period. In order to override the governor’s veto, the Nebraska Legislature would need 30 votes.

According to Governor Ricketts, “waiting two years to demonstrate that you can be a productive member of society, that you can keep your nose clean, is not too much to ask of convicted felons.” However, supporters of the bill felt differently. According to Nebraska State Senator Justin Wayne, “this restriction of a two-year waiting period is not only unnecessary and unjust, but it is counterproductive to what this body says is important.” He also argued that the current law is discriminatory against minority voters in the state.

(via Felon Voting Restrictions Removed by Nebraska Legislature, Governor Vetoes the Bill - ProCon.org)

Source: procon.org

Felon Voting Bans Criticized by US Attorney General Holder

imageOn Feb. 11, 2014, Attorney General Eric Holder called for an end to felon disenfranchisement in the United States. His speech on criminal justice reform at the Georgetown University Law Center appealed to states that still have some form of permanent disenfranchisement to automatically restore the ability to vote to all people convicted of a felony once they complete their term of incarceration, serve all parole and probation, and pay all fines.

Attorney General Holder stated that “Across this country today, an estimated 5.8 million Americans – 5.8 million of our fellow citizens – are prohibited from voting because of current or previous felony convictions. That’s more than the individual populations of 31 U.S. states. And although well over a century has passed since post-Reconstruction states used these measures to strip African Americans of their most fundamental rights, the impact of felony disenfranchisement on modern communities of color remains both disproportionate and unacceptable… It is unwise, it is unjust, and it is not in keeping with our democratic values. These laws deserve to be not only reconsidered, but repealed.”

The Attorney General went on to say that throughout the United States, “2.2 million black citizens – or nearly one in 13 African-American adults – are banned from voting because of these laws. In three states – Florida, Kentucky, and Virginia – that ratio climbs to one in five.”