Felony disenfranchisement in Florida

In the U.S. state of Florida, people convicted of a felony lose their right to vote during their incarceration. Prior to January 8, 2019, people who previously committed felony crimes effectively lost their right to vote for life, as it could only be restored by action of the governor, which rarely occurred. However, during the November 6, 2018 election, Floridians voted 65% in favor of Amendment 4 to allow people convicted of a felony—except murder or sexual abuse—to regain their voting rights after the completion of their sentences. Previously, Florida had been one of four remaining states that maintained the lifetime ban.

Republicans in Florida's state legislature enacted SB7066, which required ex-felons to pay off existing fees before regaining their right to vote, an extra step critics have compared to a poll tax. In May 2020, a federal district court judge found that SB7066 was unconstitutional for those unable to pay, or unable to find out how much they owe. On September 11, 2020, however, the United States Court of Appeals for the Eleventh Circuit overturned that verdict, saying that the requirement for felons to pay fines did not violate the equal protection clause of the 14th Amendment to the Constitution.

History

Felony disenfranchisement in Florida began with the 1838 ratification of the first Constitution of Florida. Article VI Section 13 states, “laws shall be made by the General Assembly, to exclude from office, and from suffrage, those who shall have been or may thereafter be convicted of bribery, perjury, forgery, or other high crime, or misdemeanor.” This law took effect in 1845 when Florida became a U.S. state and remained largely intact despite notable wording changes in 1868 and 1968 until 2007.

During the 1868 state constitutional convention, Florida largely overhauled its constitution: A small expansion of the felon voting section was changed to say, “nor shall any person convicted of a felony be qualified to vote at any election unless restored to civil rights… the Legislature shall have power and shall enact the necessary laws to exclude from every office of honor, power, trust, or profit, civil or military, within the State, and from the right of suffrage, all persons convicted of bribery, perjury, larceny, or of an infamous crime.” Although minor, this rewrite marks the first instance of the word “felony” in official documents to describe actions that warrant exclusion from voting rights.

There were no reform efforts of note nor any changes to the felon voting section of the constitution until 1968, where the section was simplified to include only felonies as reasons to ban criminals from voting; bribery, perjury, larceny, and infamous crimes were struck. This version of the law would stand until 2007.

In 1974, the Florida Legislature passed a bill that would allow people who had previously been convicted of a felony to regain the right to vote upon the conclusion of their sentences. However, the Supreme Court of Florida ruled that the bill was unconstitutional because it bypassed the governor’s clemency power. Though many spoke out throughout the rest of the 20th century, this remained the only real attempt at reform until the 21st century.

On September 22, 2000, the Brennan Center for Justice represented eight people who had been previously convicted of felony crimes that filed a civil complaint against the state of Florida claiming its implementation of felony disenfranchisement violated the federal Voting Rights Act of 1965 as well as the First, Fourteenth, Fifteenth, and Twenty-fourth amendments of the U.S. Constitution. The case, Johnson v. Bush, lasted the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Eleventh Circuit ruled in 2005 that the law would stand.

On April 5, 2007, Governor Charlie Crist was able to pass legislation that allowed people previously convicted of felony crimes to regain the right to vote if approved by the Parole Commission. Crist intended this reform to include automatic reinstatement for all people who had been previously convicted of felony crimes that were not convicted of murder or violent sex crimes; however, other public officials at the time felt the reform was too lenient on criminals. This reform ultimately allowed over 150,000 people who had been previously convicted of felony crimes to regain the right to vote but was reversed in March 2011 under Governor Rick Scott. Scott also added the additional barrier of a five-year waiting period between the end of a sentence and application for voting reinstatement. This current iteration of the law has remained unchanged through April 2018.

On February 1, 2018, federal judge Mark E. Walker ruled that Florida’s process of choosing which people previously convicted of felony crimes should have their voting rights restored was unconstitutional. Walker argued that Florida’s system for re-enfranchisement is too broad for interpretation. As such, Walker claimed the decision to reinstate voting rights falls within the personal discretion of the governor and the clemency board, potentially allowing for personal bias to influence decisions. The state's legislature intervened and required ex-felons to pay off fees before regaining their right to vote, a requirement critics compared to a poll tax.

On September 11, 2020, the United States Court of Appeals for the Eleventh Circuit overturned a lower judge's ruling that all fines do not have to be paid off before felons can be re-enfranchised. This appeals court ruling had the effect of disenfranchising most Florida felons. Five of the six judges in the majority were appointed by Donald Trump, and the other was appointed by George W. Bush.

In late September 2020, former New York City mayor Michael Bloomberg put together a fund of over $16 million to be used towards helping convicted felons vote in Florida by paying their outstanding fines.

Statistics

According to 2016 research by The Sentencing Project:

• 10.43% of the Florida population is disenfranchised
• 1,686,318 total Floridians are disenfranchised.
• Florida has the most disenfranchised citizens in the United States.
• Florida has the highest disenfranchisement rate in the United States.
• 23.3% of black voters in Florida can’t vote because of felony disenfranchisement.

Felony classifications

In Florida a felony is defined as any criminal offense that is potentially punishable by imprisonment in a state correctional facility. Felonies are broken down into five categories,

• Capital felonies: felony offenses that are punishable by death.
• Life felonies: Offenses that carry a potential sentence of life in prison.
• Third degree felonies: Offenses punishable by a maximum of five years of incarceration in a state correctional facility.
• Second degree felonies: Offenses punishable by a maximum of fifteen years of incarceration in a state correctional facility.
• First degree felonies: Offenses punishable by a maximum of thirty years of incarceration in a state correctional facility.

See also

• Felony disenfranchisement in the United States