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ACLU of Florida's Chief Tallahassee Lobbyist in Daytona Beach to Discuss Restoration of Voting Rights for Ex-Felons
For Immediate Release:
Friday, June 18, 2004
Contact: Daytona Beach: George Griffin at 407-592-6355 or Ed Heaphy at 386-295-6835
Miami: Alessandra Soler Meetze, ACLU of Florida, 305-576-2337 ext. 16
DAYTONA BEACH -- Saying the mass disenfranchisement of more than 600,000 former felons is the overriding civil rights crisis in the state of Florida, the American Civil Liberties Union of Florida's head lobbyist Larry H. Spalding will be in Daytona Beach June 26 to discuss current efforts to eliminate Florida's voting ban for people with past felony convictions.
"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," added Spalding, who heads the ACLU of Florida's office in Tallahassee.
At a workshop hosted by the ACLU Volusia/Flagler Chapter, Spalding will answer questions regarding a proposed amendment to the Florida Constitution that, if passed, would provide for automatic restoration of civil and voting rights for felons after they have been released from incarceration and post-conviction supervision. Participating with Spalding will be 19th District Florida Senator Gary Siplin, Volusia County Council Members Patricia Northey, Charles W. Cherry and Frank T. Bruno, Daytona Beach City Commissioner Dwayne Taylor and Charlene Gagnier from the Supervisor of Elections office. Members and visitors will also have an opportunity to learn how to effectively lobby their elected officials about pressing civil liberties issues.
The workshop will be from 2:30 to 4 p.m. Saturday, June 26th at the Dickerson Center, 308 S. Martin Luther King Blvd., in Daytona Beach, Florida. The event is free and open to the public.
Click here for more information and to visit the chapter's web site.
Florida is one of only seven states that bars former felons from regaining their civil and voting rights after they have completed their sentences, unless those rights are restored by the Board of Executive Clemency, which is made up the Governor and his Cabinet members. The entire process is complicated and takes years. Even then, there is no guarantee that an applicant’s rights will be restored. A felony conviction results in a loss of the right to vote, hold public office, serve on a jury and qualify for certain types of state job licenses.
The ACLU of Florida, along with nearly 40 local, state and national organizations including the National Association for the Advancement of Colored People (NAACP), is part of a statewide group called the Florida Rights Restoration Coalition, which is currently collecting signatures in support of the constitutional amendment to restore ex-felons' voting rights after completion of their sentences. Nearly 500,000 signatures are required to place the amendment on the ballot.
Click here to print and sign the petition.
Immediately following the ACLU workshop, the local branch of the NAACP will explain the current application process for restoration of civil and voting rights. The program will feature Dr. Walter Fordham, Florida Senators Tony Hill and Gary Siplin and Daytona Beach City Commissioner Dwayne Taylor. Volunteers will be available to assist individuals with the rights restoration application process.
Refreshments will be served after the NAACP meeting.
