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Local Community Leaders and Organizations Host Workshop to Restore
Voting Rights
May 7, 2002
Miami, FL: In an effort to help ex-felons restore their right to vote, the ACLU will join several other offices and organizations in hosting a rights restoration workshop to assist ex-felons in applying for restoration of their civil rights, including the right to vote.
The workshop will be held from 5:00p.m. to 7:00p.m. on May 14th at the Joseph Caleb Center; 5400 NW 22nd Avenue, Room 110; Miami, Florida.
The workshop, which will provide participants with one-on-one assistance, required forms, and all the information they need to apply, is being sponsored by State Senator Kendrick Meek, the Law Offices of Public Defender Bennett H. Brummer, the State Attorney's Office, the ACLU, MADDADS, the NAACP, the Dade County Bar Association, and the Black Lawyers Association of Dade County.
Individuals interested in participating in the workshop should call the ACLU at (305) 576-2337 ext. 18 to schedule their free appointment. Walk-ins will be accepted on the day of the workshop for restoration of civil rights applications only. Representatives from the State Attorney's Office will be on-site to assist with seal and expunge petitions, but by appointment only.
"The mass disenfranchisement of ex-felons is the overriding civil rights problem in our state," said Howard Simon, Executive Director of the ACLU of Florida. "It is high time for the Governor and the Clemency Board to recognize that, in the name of fairness, an individual's civil and voting rights should be automatically restored after completion of all punishment. Until automatic restoration is achieved, we will continue to help people run the gauntlet that lies between them and their most fundamental right as citizens ? the right to vote," Simon added.
Currently, convicted felons in Florida are stripped of their right to vote until they undertake a lengthy application process and are granted restoration of their rights by the Governor and the Clemency Board. Florida is one of only eight states that deny the right to vote to all ex-felons who have completed their sentences. The end result is the mass disenfranchisement of more than 400,000 people in the state of Florida, a disproportionate number of whom are black.
Volunteers are needed to help provide the one-on-one assistance vital to this event. Volunteer training will take place from 4:00 to 5:00p.m. at the Caleb Center, immediately preceding the workshop. You do not need to be an attorney to volunteer. However, attorneys who attend the training can qualify to receive one general civil CLE credit. If you are interested in volunteering on May 14th, please call Courtenay at (305) 576-2337 ext. 18, or come to the Caleb Center at 4:00p.m. on the day of the workshop.
Media Contact: Courtenay Strickland, ACLU of Florida, (305) 576-2337 ext. 18
