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NORTH MIAMI, FL – In November, Florida voters approved a revolutionary voting measure that would restore the voting rights of up to 1.5 million people convicted of felony. The legislature, led by the Republicans, voted Friday to impose a series of strict restrictions that could prevent tens of thousands of them from reaching the ballot box.
Critics say critics weaken the spirit of voters' intentions. Thousands of people with serious criminal histories will be required to fully reimburse the fines and costs to the courts before they can vote. The new limits would force potential new voters to pay up to tens of thousands of dollars to the courts, which would have the effect of getting some people out of the polls. .
"Basically, they tell you: if you have money, you can vote. If you do not have money, you will not be able to, "said Patrick Penn, 42, who spent 15 years in prison for armed robbery and violent robbery. He said that he did not know whether he owed money to the court or not, but feared that it might now prove a complication when he was preparing to vote. "That's not what people voted for."
While the House voted 67-42 Friday following the party line to approve the new restrictions, the bill was approved by Governor Ron DeSantis, who had asked the Legislature to set additional standards for the registration of ex-criminals.
The vast majority of the accused are poor when they are arrested and even poorer after their release from prison.
The new restrictions were attacked by civil rights groups and some supporters of the initiative, viewed as an exercise in the politics of republican power, driven by fears that those convicted of crimes would be mainly Liberals who could reorganize the government. electorate before the presidential elections of 2020 and beyond. Republicans have dominated the Florida state government for more than two decades, but elections are often decided at a fraction of a percentage point.
Republicans said the restrictions were needed to clarify how the measure of the vote, called Amendment 4, should be put into practice. They cited the text of the amendment itself as requiring a rigorous interpretation of what constitutes a completed sentence, and stated that the policy did not concern them.
"Some felt that this amendment would have a significant political impact one way or the other," said Rep. James W. Grant, Republican of Tampa, who sponsored the legislation of the House on Friday. "The results will be what they can."
Restoring the right to vote of those who have served their sentences has become a national problem. Most states have progressively relaxed or removed barriers to access polling stations – to such an extent that, At a recent public meeting, Democratic presidential candidates were asked if even prisoners, not just elders, should be allowed to vote.
But Florida had the largest number of people disenfranchised because of their criminal record. Amendment 4 having been approved by nearly 65% of Florida voters, this landmark result has been hailed as a historic civil rights victory in a state where African-Americans disproportionately deprived of their rights. The measure left only two other states, Iowa and Kentucky, with laws prohibiting anyone with a criminal record from voting.
Pressed by the time approaching the end of the annual session, senators on Thursday afternoon added new reimbursement requirements to a bill unrelated to their situation that dealt with some of the electoral issues that arose during the recount. from last year. The surprise legislative move forced Democrats who would have otherwise favored the Elections Bill to oppose it. The State House had previously approved a bill with strict reimbursement provisions.
But as part of a compromise late Thursday between Republicans of the House and Senate, the accused would have the right to vote, if not the full refund of fines and fees. They could ask a judge to waive his financial obligations or convert them into community service. The Senate had initially hoped to be more lenient and it appeared that the compromise would leave anyway a large number of potential voters unable to register.
"My heart is elsewhere and I would like to go further," said Sen. Jeff Brandes, a Republican from St. Petersburg who sponsored the Senate bill on Thursday, citing his Christian faith. "It should be our place to always try to seek mercy for sacrifice. We will continue to work towards this goal. "
The final debate in the House on Friday lasted more than two hours. Black Democrats pointed out that criminals have been barred from voting in Florida's first place under Jim Crow's racist laws passed during the Reconstruction. Desmond Meade, President of the Florida Rights Restoration Coalition, was in the gallery. He has been commended nationwide for his work.
Political scientists studying voter registration in Florida said that reintegrating criminals hitherto deprived of their rights in the democratic process took time and effort, and that any increase in voter lists in the state would be progressive and would probably follow the trends the state register without political affiliation.
Mr. Penn, the ex-prisoner, said he had registered to vote as a democrat earlier this year. When it came out in 2017, the return to a normal life has become elusive. Employers hired him, but let him leave soon after learning more about his criminal background. He could not afford to leave his parents' house. He hoped at least to have a chance to help choose the leaders of the nation and have a say in the management of his city.
"The vote is the most important," Penn said. "That's what creates this voice for people like ex-criminals."
During his election campaign last year, Mr. DeSantis said he hoped that lawmakers would better define the crime convictions that would prevent someone from voting, even if it was not. 39 has not publicly taken into account the compromise reached in the Legislative Assembly. Amendment 4 did not apply to persons convicted of murder or sexual offenses.
Legislators did this, then went further, also addressing financial obligations related to criminal cases. Without their guidance, lawmakers have stated that clerks of local courts, as well as the penitentiary department and the state election division, would have difficulty maintaining uniform standards for restoring the right to vote.
Republican lawmakers say that they want as many people as possible to vote. They noted that supporters of Amendment 4 had declared in court and the campaign websites before the election that fines and court fees would be refunded.
"They tried to go back," Brandes said in an interview.
Civil rights organizations, however, argue that legislators have gone too far and that more than five million Floridians who voted for the ballot measure did not want court debts to be an exception to the right to vote. vote. The text of amendment 4 stated that voting rights would automatically be restored to criminals "after they have completed all the terms of their sentence, including parole or probation".
"This is a big slap for voters and a way to discourage people from participating in the process," said Micah W. Kubic, executive director of the chapter of the American Civil Liberties Union in Florida. "There is a profound gap between the joy and the jubilation of November compared to people who are now trying to do something in Tallahassee when nobody pays attention to them."
"On the national scene, they wonder if we allow jailed voters to vote, but not us, we fear and shout," said Fort Lauderdale Democrat Senator Perry E. Thurston Jr. in a passionate speech. Thursday's ground speech opposed to the bill.
Some former Florida criminals have already voted in local elections. The legislation grants all persons who could henceforth be excluded from the right to vote the immunity of prosecution.
Legislators have long resisted calls to expand the voting rights of Florida criminals, choosing to act only after voters approved Amendment 4, which had received more votes than a single candidate in November.
The new restrictions will almost certainly face legal challenges already prepared by civil rights groups. Mr. DeSantis, a Republican who took office in January, appointed three new judges to the state Supreme Court, which tipped the balance in favor of the Conservatives. A federal trial also seems likely.
Restitution, fines and fees are often turned into a lien, which records the debt but turns it from a criminal case to a civil case. The legislation passed on Thursday specifies that conversion to civil privilege is not enough for a person convicted of a crime to be eligible to vote. The law would allow former criminals to appear before a judge – regardless of the length of time that has elapsed since the closure of their case – and to request that the privilege be lifted or converted to work in the public interest, or that the victim be able to forgive. repayment of the refund.
The obligation to fully pay the compensation would leave people like Coral Nichols, who was sentenced to pay $ 190,000 in 2005, when she was found guilty of robbery and unjustified identity abuse. .
Ms. Nichols spent four years and seven months in a state prison, followed by nearly ten years of probation that ended last week. She paid $ 100 a month for her restitution, she said, by posting checks to a post office box for the former employer with whom she had stolen money, even after the closure of l & # 39; company. She said that she still owes $ 180,000.
"I am an active member of society," said Nichols, 41, who co-founded a nonprofit organization in Seminole, Fla., To help others after their release. # 39; incarceration. "I pay taxes. I work in the community. I am a redeemed person, reformed, rehabilitated, but I will not have the right to vote because I do not have the money. "
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