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Florida's Voting Ban

In Florida, individuals convicted of a felony are stripped of their civil and voting rights, even after completion of their sentences. Loss of civil rights takes away not only the right to vote, but also the right to hold public office, serve on a jury, and qualify for certain types of state licenses necessary for many jobs, such as those in the construction and medical fields.

In order to restore those rights, a person with a past felony conviction must apply for Restoration of Civil Rights (RCR). Only the Governor and the Executive Clemency Board have the power to restore those rights. The entire process is complicated and takes years. Even then, there is no guarantee an individual's rights will be restored.

Florida is one of only three states that strip all citizens with past felony convictions of their civil and voting rights for life. In Florida, this voting and civil rights ban dates back to the Reconstruction Era after the Civil War when newly-freed slaves were granted the right to vote. Florida officials responded by enshrining this policy into the state constitution, leaving African Americans with little voice in their government for years to come. Today, nearly one in three African-American men in Florida cannot vote because of this system.

Ending Florida's Voting Ban

The ACLU of Florida has adopted a multi-faceted approach to ending Florida's 136-year old voting ban. Through grassroots organizing, litigation and legislative action, we seek to end to the unjust disenfranchisement of more than a half million people in our state and lead Florida toward a policy of automatically restoring voting and civil rights after completion of the sentence. However, until Florida is brought in line with the rest of the nation and permanent reform is achieved, the ACLU of Florida also is committed to assisting people in applying to restore their rights through the current clemency process.

Grassroots Action - Workshops

Ending Florida's voting and civil rights ban, one of the most crucial civil rights crises facing Florida, has become a true grassroots movement. With the help of dedicated activists and volunteers from across the state, the ACLU has organized dozens of workshops to assist people in completing the initial form to apply for restoration of civil rights, including the most fundamental right in a democracy -- the right to vote.

The workshops have served as important tools for coalition-building, with organizations committing time and resources. Groups including the League of Women Voters, Movement for Change, the NAACP, the Southern Christian Leadership Conference, and Blacks in Government have joined forces with the ACLU to pool time and talents to restore voting rights for ex-felons in their area. On July 26, 2003, members of the Florida Rights Restoration Coalition hosted ten simultaneous workshops throughout the state -- from Pensacola to St. Petersburg to Fort Lauderdale -- with an estimated 662 persons being assisted by some 211 volunteers from various organizations. Hundreds of rights restoration applications were forwarded to the Office of Executive Clemency as a result.

Litigation

Civil rights groups have pursued legal action to address Florida's lifetime voting ban for people with past felony convictions. In 2001, the ACLU filed a lawsuit against the Florida Department of Corrections (DOC) to force the state agency to comply with its obligation under Florida law to assist felons with clemency applications prior to their release. As a result of the lawsuit, the DOC entered into a final judgment to provide assistance to 124,000 citizens with felony records; nearly 30,000 individuals may have their voting and civil rights restored as a result. An appeals court agreed with the ACLU and issued a unanimous ruling that the state was not doing enough to assist former felons before they were released from prison. Now, the state will have to follow the law by informing felons before they're released from prison about the process and helping them fill out the necessary rights restoration forms.

The Brennan Center and the Lawyers' Committee for Civil Rights Under Law filed a separate federal case challenging the constitutionality of the voting laws that disenfranchise people with past felony convictions. The Eleventh Circuit Court of Appeals upheld the 137-year-old voting ban, and the U.S. Supreme Court recently refused to review the case.  

Legislation

For the past several years, the ACLU of Florida has worked with other advocacy groups to lobby the state legislature to place a state constitutional amendment on the statewide ballot that, if passed by voters, would provide for automatic restoration of individuals' civil and voting rights once they've completed their sentences.

Although those efforts have failed in recent years, support for a move toward automatic restoration of voting and civil rights is on the rise. During previous legislative sessions, key Republican leaders, including Senator Alex Villalobos (R-Miami) and Senator Stephen Wise (R-Jacksonville), announced their support for automatic restoration of civil rights after completion of the sentence.

Rights Restoration Centers

In an effort to provide people with past felony convictions with in-depth, ongoing assistance throughout the often years-long process of applying for restoration of their civil and voting rights, various member organizations of the Florida Rights Restoration Coalition, including the ACLU of Florida, have opened Rights Restoration Centers throughout the state.

The Rights Restoration Centers provide applicants with one-on-one assistance throughout the entire process of applying for restoration of civil rights - from the initial application through the follow-up steps that are necessary to develop a personal portfolio and prepare for a final hearing before the Board of Executive Clemency, which is made up of the Governor and the Cabinet. Only the Clemency Board has the power to restore a person's voting and civil rights.

For more information on any rights restoration center, or to request telephone assistance if there is not a center near you, please call (786) 363-2711 or 1-877-U-COUNT-2.

In-person assistance is currently available at the following locations:

Brevard Rights Restoration Center
10 to 5 p.m. on Tuesdays, Wednesdays, and Thursdays.
ACLU of Florida Brevard Regional Office
905 E. New Haven Ave.
REAR ENTRANCE
Melbourne, FL 32901
For information and appointments, call 321-768-6262.
Sponsored by ACLU.

Gainesville Rights Restoration Center
Assistance is available monthly on a walk-in basis; call for dates and times.
Downtown Public Library (Headquarters)
401 East University Ave., 4th floor, Meeting Room A
Gainesville, FL 32601
For information and appointments, call 352-376-2442.
Sponsored by the Martin Luther King, Jr. Commission of Florida, Inc.

Miami Rights Restoration Center
Second Saturday of every month.
10:00 a.m. to 2:00 p.m.
Better Way House of Bargains
100 NE 79th St.
Miami, FL 33138
For information and appointments, call (786) 363-2711.
Sponsored by BetterWay of Miami, Inc., the Homeless/Formerly Homeless Forum, and ACLU.

Northwest Florida Rights Restoration Center
Assistance available daily on a walk-in basis.
3 West Garden St., #206
Pensacola, FL 32501
For information and appointments on rotating locations in Escambia, Okaloosa, Walton, and Bay Counties (and any other county between Pensacola and Tallahassee), call 850-429-9128.
Sponsored by ACLU, NAACP, and others.

Tallahassee Rights Restoration Center
Assistance available by appointment.
For information and appointments, call 850-644-6887.

St. Petersburg Rights Restoration Center
Third Saturday of every month.
9:30 a.m. to 12:30 p.m.
Enoch Davis Center
1111 18th Avenue South
St. Petersburg, FL 33705
For information and appointments, call 813-254-0925.
Sponsored by ACLU, Rep. Arthenia Joyner, Citizens United for Equality Now, and the Sojourner Truth Center.

Tampa Rights Restoration Center
Second Saturday of every month.
9:30 a.m. to 12:30 p.m.
East Tampa Business and Civic Association
2814 22nd Street North
Tampa, FL 33605
For information and appointments, call 813-254-0925.
Sponsored by ACLU, Rep. Arthenia Joyner, the East Tampa Business and Civic Association, and the NAACP.

Additional Rights Restoration Centers are currently being planned. If you are interested in starting a center in your area or volunteering at an already existing location, please call (786) 363-2711. The non-partisan, statewide Florida Rights Restoration Coalition steering committee serves as the advisory board for the Rights Restoration Center program. The FRRC is also part of the national movement, Right to Vote: Campaign to End Felony Disfranchisement.

Ballot Initiative

The struggle to end Florida's voting ban against people with past felony convictions took a dramatic new turn. Florida State Senator M. Mandy Dawson filed language for a ballot initiative to place an amendment to the Florida Constitution on the statewide ballot. The constitutional amendment, if passed, would remove the lifetime voting and civil rights ban against people with past felonies -- a ban that has been in our state constitution since 1868 -- and restore individuals' civil and voting rights after completion of their sentences.

The Florida Rights Restoration Coalition (FRRC), a non-partisan statewide coalition of nearly forty local, state and national organizations dedicated to achieving permanent reform through a state constitutional amendment, voted to support the ballot initiative through its own campaign to place the amendment on the ballot. The FRRC, which was formed at an ACLU-sponsored statewide meeting of organizations and activists in Tampa in March 2003, will organize local working groups to coordinate signature-gathering in various areas of the state. Local ACLU chapters will also be participating in the signature-gathering effort. Nearly 500,000 signatures are required to place the amendment on the ballot.

Contact: Elton Edwards at (786) 363-2711 or via e-mail at eedwards@aclufl.org for more information on the ballot initiative.

Florida Rights Restoration Coalition

The Florida Rights Restoration Coalition (FRRC) is a non-partisan statewide coalition of nearly forty local, state and national organizations dedicated to achieving permanent reform through a state constitutional amendment. They have recently embarked on a campaign to place an amendment on the statewide ballot that would automatically restore voting rights for people with past felonies upon the completion of their sentences. The FRRC, which was formed at an ACLU-sponsored statewide meeting of organizations and activists in Tampa in March 2003, will organize local working groups to coordinate signature-gathering in various areas of the state. Until permanent reform can be achieved, the FRRC is also dedicated to helping people through the current process of applying for restoration of their civil and voting rights.

Contact:  Elton Edwards at (786) 363-2711 or via e-mail at eedwards@aclufl.org for more on how you or your non-partisan organization can join the FRRC and get involved in the effort to end Florida's voting ban.

Applying for Restoration of Civil Rights

Persons seeking to apply for restoration of their civil rights must submit a Restoration of Civil Rights (RCR) application to the Office of Executive Clemency in Tallahassee. If restoration of civil rights is granted, the rights that are restored include the right to vote, serve on a jury, hold public office, and hold certain types of state job licenses.

The decision of whether to grant RCR is ultimately made by the Board of Executive Clemency, which consists of the Governor and his appointed Cabinet. Some applicants may be asked to appear in person before the Board of Executive Clemency. It is not uncommon for applicants to wait a year or more to receive a decision.

In addition to the RCR application, applicants are encouraged, but not required, to submit letters of reference from past or current employers, clergy, neighbors, etc. Applicants may also wish to submit certified copies of court records, though this is not required in order to apply for RCR.

Applying for RCR does not seal or expunge a person's criminal record, nor does it give the person the authority to purchase, own or possess firearms. RCR may assist some people in the job search by making them eligible for certain types of state licenses necessary for many jobs. Restoration of civil rights is only one form of executive clemency. Individuals can learn about other types of clemency -- including pardons, commutations of sentence, and others -- by calling the Office of Executive Clemency at (850) 488-2952.

Individuals currently in prison or jail, or under any form of supervision, are not eligible to apply for restoration of civil rights until they are completely released from supervision, including probation or parole. To request a waiver of this rule, contact the Office of Executive Clemency at (850) 488-2952.

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