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Florida Rights Restoration Coalition
Civil Rights Activists, Religious Leaders Form Diverse Coalition
to Restore
Voting Rights for Ex-felons
March 25, 2003
TALLAHASSEE ? Responding to the statewide injustice of felony disenfranchisement, a group of civil rights leaders and clergy members from across Florida today announced the formation of a broad, non-partisan coalition that will campaign for the restoration of civil rights for ex-felons.
"The mass disenfranchisement of ex-felons is the overriding civil rights crisis in our state," said Howard Simon, Executive Director of the American Civil Liberties Union (ACLU) Foundation of Florida, which spearheaded the formation of the coalition. "It is high time for the Florida Legislature, 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 release from supervision."
Florida is one of only eight states that strip all felons of their civil and voting rights, even after completion of their sentences. Among the civil rights lost are not only the right to vote, but also the right to hold certain types of state licenses necessary for many jobs. In order to restore those rights, ex-felons must complete a "Restoration of Civil Rights" (RCR) application. 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 that an ex-felon's rights will be restored.
"It is in the interest of justice and the highest ideals of our Judaeo-Christian
heritage to restore the basic rights of those who have paid their
debt to society," said Rev. Charles S. Mckenzie, Co-Director of Development,
Florida Council of Churches and State of Florida Coordinator, Rainbow-PUSH
Coalition. "This must be done speedily and deliberately. No amount
of bureaucratic protraction or political intransigence should be allowed
to impede or stop it."
For the past several years, the ACLU of Florida has worked with other advocacy groups to lobby the state legislature to place a constitutional amendment on the statewide ballot that, if passed by voters, would provide for automatic restoration of ex-felons' civil and voting rights once they've completed their sentences. Those efforts, however, have failed. During the 2001 legislative session, the Senate voted to place an amendment on the state ballot. But, the House leadership blocked the measure from reaching the House floor. In 2002, similar bills calling for automatic restoration died in committee.
This year, members of the Florida Rights Restoration Coalition plan to achieve lasting reform. Member organizations, including the Florida Council of Churches, Justice Fellowship, League of Women Voters of Florida, 11th Episcopal District Lay Organization of the African Methodist Episcopal Church, Brothers of the Same Mind and NAACP plan a wide range of actions to support current bills SJR 1264, sponsored by Sen. Frederica Wilson, and HJR 1003, sponsored by Rep. Yolly Roberson. The bills would place a constitutional amendment before the voters that provides for automatic restoration after release from supervision. The group plans to organize a "Restore the Vote!" Legislative Action Day, as well as phone, e-mail and fax campaigns. If the bills are not approved by the legislature, the coalition may take the question to the voters themselves by gathering signatures to place an amendment on the 2004 ballot.
According to the Florida Department of Corrections, only 927 ex-felons had their rights restored in 2000 ? significantly fewer that the 15,000 restorations granted in 1986. More than 30,000 applications await review at the Office of Executive Clemency, and despite severe budget shortfalls, the state is spending at least $1 million this year to hire extra staff to process applications.
This policy of disenfranchising ex-felons in Florida 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, approximately 30 percent of African-American men in Florida cannot vote because of this system.
"For so many years, we have tolerated a racist, Civil War-era policy that disproportionately impacts black men in Florida, making it even harder for them to rehabilitate their lives and become productive members of society once they get out of jail," said E. Bernard Anderson, Jr., Director of Public Relations, 11th Episcopal District Lay Organization of the African Methodist Episcopal Church. "But now it's time to take a stand and fight this grave injustice because ex-felons who have paid their debt to society deserve every right to have a voice in their community."
Activists in several other states have organized successful campaigns to eliminate state laws and policies that disenfranchise citizens with past felony convictions. Last year, the Maryland legislature repealed its lifetime ban on two-time ex-felons (with the exception of felons with two violent convictions) and imposed a three-year waiting period after completion of sentence before rights can be restored. Thanks in-part to the lobbying efforts of activists in Connecticut, the Governor signed into law a bill that extends voting rights to felons on probation. The 2001 law is expected to make 36,000 persons eligible to vote.
In Texas, under the tenure of then-Governor George W. Bush a bill was passed in 1997 that removed a two-year waiting period for ex-felons, automatically allowing them to register to vote upon release from supervision, including parole or probation.
"It is time that Florida officials come in line with the rest of the nation," said Jane Gross, President of the League of Women Voters of Florida. "Florida's clemency system can mean a lifetime with deprivation of civil rights. This is unjust and makes no sense. How are former felons going to become productive citizens if the state places barriers on their ability to pay their taxes and find employment to support themselves and their families?"
Civil rights groups have also pursued legal action to address this problem. 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 has agreed to provide assistance to 124,000 citizens with felony records, and to automatically restore the civil and voting rights of approximately one-third of those individuals. In addition to pursuing legal action in state court, the ACLU has sponsored workshops in recent years to assist people with felony convictions with the rights restoration process.
The Brennan Center and the Lawyers' Committee for Civil Rights Under Law have a separate federal case that will go before the Eleventh Circuit Court of Appeals at 9 a.m. April 9, 2003. The hearing in this case, which challenges the constitutionality of the voting laws that disenfranchise ex-felons, will be held in the 12th Floor Courtroom of the James Lawrence King Federal Justice Building, 99 NE Fourth Street, in downtown Miami.
The coalition includes this growing list of organizations: 11th Episcopal District Lay Organization of the African Methodist Episcopal Church, ACORN, Advancement Project, ACLU, Black Lawyers Association, Brothers of the Same Mind, Concerned United People (CUP), Demos, Determination, Education, Justice, Acceptance (DEJA), Florida AFL-CIO, Florida Association of Criminal Defense Lawyers, Florida Cannabis Action Network (FL CAN), Florida Conference of NAACP Branches, Florida Council of Churches, Florida Institutional Legal Services, Florida Justice Institute, Florida Voters League, Gray Panthers of South Florida, Human Services Coalition, Inner City Grassroots Civic Coalition, International People's Democratic Uhuru Movement, Justice Fellowship, Labor Line, Inc., League of Women Voters of Florida, Miami-Dade Election Reform Coalition, Movement for Change, National Campaign to Restore Voting Rights, National Lawyers Guild, Office of Public Defender Carey Haughwout, Palm Beach Co. Urban League & Young Professionals Group, People for the American Way Foundation, Rainbow/PUSH Coalition, Take A Stand, The March for Justice, The Sentencing Project, Voice of Freedom, YWCA of Greater Miami.
Contact:
Tallahassee: Courtenay Strickland, ACLU-FL, (305) 799-9611
Jim Ciotti, ACLU Tallahassee, (850) 561-1353
Miami: Alessandra Soler Meetze, ACLU-FL, 305-576-2337 ext. 16
