A.G. Gancarski
Late Wednesday, the 11th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals reversed a federal judge’s order requiring Florida to overhaul its oft-criticized process of restoring felons’ voting rights by Thursday.
Gov. Rick Scott and the Florida Cabinet, which serves also as the clemency board, scored a key victory when the appeals judge asserted that the state had “broad discretion” on this matter.
The state had contended that the Thursday deadline was onerous and could not be met, and the appeals court vindicated that position.
Thursday in Jacksonville, the Governor spoke on the appeals decision for the first time since it was rendered. His remarks reflected a court decision in his favor, and the realities of messaging that to his base.
Scott reiterated his commitment to “stand on the side of victims and their families … not with felons,” noting that some of the individuals slow walked through rights restoration hearings are “murderers” and others are guilty of “violence against women, violence against kids, hate crimes, abuse of the elderly, abuse of the developmentally disabled.”
“I believe they, because of their heinous acts, should lose the right to vote,” Scott said.
“People that the public elects in this state should make the decision on clemency,” Scott continued, “not appointed federal judges.”
“In the last seven years, we’ve had almost 3,000 felons go through the process … we’ve given them their voting rights back because we’ve seen them change their lives,” Scott added.
The process “work[s] for Florida,” Scott said, “because if you’ve gone through the process in this state, your chance of going back to prison goes down.”
“Who gets helped with that? Everybody does. Our society is better. Victims are better off. Everybody’s better off. That’s part of the reason we’re at a 46 year low in our crime rate.”
Material from News Service of Florida was used in this post.
5 comments
Mary Jo Pezzi
April 26, 2018 at 11:57 am
It’s true that ex-felons, who have had their voting rights restored are better citizens. They value their right to vote and seldom wind back up in prison. So why is it that only 3,005 ex-felons in eight years have been able to get back their right to vote via Gov. Scott and State Attorney Bondi’s clemency board, while Gov. Charlie Christ was able to restore the voting rights of 155,000 ex-felons during his 4-year term? Florida, with about 1.6 million felons, is considered an outlier in a nation where more than three dozen other states automatically restore the right to vote for most felons who have completed their sentences. And – YES – when a person has served their time, paid their fines/restoration and then has their civil rights restored, the chance they wind up back in prison is greatly reduced. So.. Scott and Bondi are really hurting Florida. I hope everyone keeps that in mind Midterm2018 when this crook – founding CEO of a healthcare corp. that paid the highest settlement payment in history for Medicare FRAUD .. asks for your vote.
Bebe Kanter
April 26, 2018 at 12:44 pm
I agree that people convicted of rape and murder should be denied the right to vote. But the majority of Florida felons were convicted of non-violent crimes for things like not paying parking tickets, or selling a few joints….offenses which wouldn’t even be considered felons in other states. Give back the right to felons with the murderer and sex offenders exempted.
Let's Get Real
April 26, 2018 at 2:18 pm
A felony is a felony is a felony. The individuals who committed it took the risk of the prescribed penalties if they were convicted, including loss of the right to vote. Please keep in mind that they have been convicted, not merely accused. The Legislature has provided a route to take for convicted felons to regain voting rights. If they do not wish to avail themselves of it, that’s their decision. The fact that they choose not to follow the established procedure speaks loudly about their willingness to follow both substantive and procedural law. Perhaps that is why they became convicted felons–seeking a round-about way to achieve immediate goals. There exist public resources (such as Legal Aid) to assist in navigating the procedure, so don’t complain that it is too complex. Furthermore, feel free to work within the legal system to try to have the crime of which you were convicted reclassified to something other than a felony. That would show that you were serious about being a productive citizen, not just someone who likes to carry signs in front of the Capitol. And that goes for your “supporters” and the political class seeking votes. Al? Are you there?
Mary Jo Pezzi
April 26, 2018 at 3:50 pm
Florida, with about 1.6 million felons, is considered an outlier in a nation where more than three dozen other states automatically restore the right to vote for most felons who have completed their sentences. And – YES – when a person has served their time, paid their fines/restoration and then has their civil rights restored, the chance they wind up back in prison is greatly reduced. In eight years Scott has restored a mere 3,005 requests vs Gov. Charlie Christ’s restoration in four years of 155,000 applicant requests. There’s currently a 30,000 case backlog, and btw this is after applicants had to wait 5 years to apply and must wait another 5 years if their first application is denied.
Dan Lanske
April 26, 2018 at 2:42 pm
I agree with Rick Scott 100%
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