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Community Groups Sponsor Town Hall Meeting in Tampa To Help Ex-Offenders Restore Voting Rights
May 10, 2001
Tampa, FL ? In an effort to help ex-offenders navigate the lengthy and complicated process of restoring their voting rights, the Greater Tampa Chapter of the American Civil Liberties Union, in cooperation with Floridians Representing Equity and Equality (FREE), is sponsoring a Town Hall Meeting to educate former offenders on how to regain their right to vote.
The meeting will be at 10 a.m. May 19 at the University Area Community Development Center, 14013 North 22d Street, in Tampa.
Hillsborough Election Supervisor Pam Iorio; State Representative Arthenia Joyner; Randall Marshall, ACLU State Legal Director; Leon Russell, President of FREE, and several members of Brothers of the Same Mind, a Miami-based organization that helps former inmates reintegrate into society, will speak to the issues of restoration of voting rights.
Ex-offenders who want their right to vote restored are encouraged to attend. Following the panel discussion, ACLU members will be available to provide detailed, step by step instructions, required forms, and other critical information ex-offenders will need to apply.
Florida is one of only 14 states that fail to automatically restore the civil rights of ex-offenders upon their release from custody or supervision. The result is a mass disenfranchisement of more than 647,000 people; many are voting-age black males. Over 31% of the state's disenfranchised felons are black. Florida has more disenfranchised felons than any other state, about 5.9% of the total population.
It is difficult for ex-offenders to get their rights restored. They must go through a complicated process to with the Governor's Office of Executive Clemency. The requests are finally reviewed and approved by the Clemency Board ? made up of the governor and his cabinet members. Last year, only 1,024 Florida citizens were able to successfully complete the process.
The Town Hall Meeting is one of several being sponsored by ACLU chapters in Florida as part of the ACLU Voting Rights Project.
For information, call Rodrick Colbert at (813) 972-4164 or email: roderickcolbert@yahoo.com or Mike Pheneger at mphenege@tampabay.rr.com.
