CSDP Blog

Estimates range from 300,000 to more than 900,000 former Florida felons who'll be staying home on Election Day because voting rights were taken--Many of these individuals are locked out of civic engagement because of previous drug charges. According to the Florida Times-Union October 23, 2008 article, ("Advocates Seek Changes In Fla Felon Rights System") "Many other ex-convicts have had their rights restored but remain unregistered because they don't know it. State officials say they've lost track of them and cannot notify them. On the other hand, thousands of ex-cons have been allowed to register and vote even though their rights haven't been restored.Those are symptoms of a broken system, says Mark Schlakman, senior program director at Florida State University's Center for the Advancement of Human Rights. Schlakman and other civil rights advocates have been pushing for two fundamental changes they say could fix the system, although it's too late to do anything before the Nov. 4 election. Once offenders have completed their sentences, including probation or parole, they should get their civil rights back, Schlakman said. That includes the rights to vote, sit on a jury and hold public office."

The article states, "Florida is one of only 10 states that don't automatically restore civil rights. Last year's rule change made restoration quicker for some, but those who have committed more serious crimes still must undergo investigations and get approval from the governor and at least two of three Cabinet members. The four sit together as the Board of Executive Clemency. The process can take years and the board turns down thousands of applications. There's a laundry list of crimes that don't qualify for the fast track. They include murder, rape, lewd conduct, robbery, aggravated battery, aggravated assault, aggravated stalking, first-degree trafficking in illegal drugs, arson, and first-degree burglary."

The article adds, "One problem Schlakman and other advocates face is that rights restoration is tied together with state licensing. While he thinks civil rights like voting should be automatically restored, he agrees the state can and should deny licenses to ex-felons for certain jobs like mortgage broker or teacher where there is a physical or fiscal danger. He thinks the issues should be separated. His second proposal is for the Clemency Board to revert to an automatic rights restoration rule adopted in 1975 when Reubin Askew was governor. In the 1990s the board, though, started excluding various crimes. Gov. Charlie Crist said separating rights restoration from licensing is something he might do but he doesn't yet know enough about the Askew rule to comment.The clemency board relies on the Florida Parole Commission to investigate rights restoration applications but it has a backlog of at least 60,000 cases, Schlakman said. Of the first 112,000 former felons to have their rights restored since the speed up rule was passed, at least 96,000, or about 85 percent, had not registered by the end of July, according to an analysis by the Orlando Sentinel.Another analysis by the South Florida Sun-Sentinel found about 30,000 former felons had successfully registered to vote although their rights haven't been restored."