Renzo DowneyDecember 4, 2019
6min575
The state needs to do more, including passing new legislation, to fix the status of voting rights restoration.
Tag: clemency
Renzo DowneyDecember 4, 2019
A.G. GancarskiNovember 14, 2019
2min466
Performance issues continue, lawmakers want answers.
Ana CeballosApril 30, 2019
4min328
The idea is for more cases to be reviewed.
Danny McAuliffeNovember 7, 2018
5min920
Floridians have passed Amendment 4, which provides for the automatic restoration of voting rights to nonviolent felons who’ve completed their sentences. The margin of victory as of 9 p.m. Tuesday was 64 percent-36 percent, with at least 60 percent needed to pass. Currently, Florida is one of just three states with a “lifetime voting ban for people with […]
Danny McAuliffeMay 4, 2018
6min367
For some, Friday is a special day. The date marks the 150-year anniversary of Florida’s constitutionalized disenfranchisement of voters, a Jim Crow-era policy that’s still relevant in 2018, as the state revokes voting rights for convicted felons — even after they’ve completed their sentences. According to the Brennan Center for Justice, Florida is one […]
A.G. GancarskiApril 18, 2018
2min222
Florida, by most accounts, has one of the worst records for restoring the civil rights of reformed felons. Per the Christian Science Monitor, more than a third of ex-felons who can’t vote live in Florida. Despite a U.S. District Judge ruling that Florida’s practice violates both First Amendment and equal-protection rights of former prisoners, and must […]
Jim RosicaApril 4, 2018
5min446
Gov. Rick Scott and the Florida Cabinet will appeal a federal judge’s order to devise a new process for restoring voting rights to felons. The Governor’s Office announced the move Wednesday morning. The appeal will be filed with the 11th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals. “People elected by Floridians should determine Florida’s clemency rules for […]
Lloyd DunkelbergerFebruary 5, 2018
7min197
The Florida Constitution Revision Commission may wade into the state’s process for restoring voting rights of ex-felons, after a federal judge ruled the current clemency process is unconstitutional. Members of the commission’s Ethics and Elections Committee unanimously agreed Friday to explore ways to consider the issue, either through additional committee meetings or by amending a […]
Ana CeballosJanuary 24, 2018
2min215
As Florida voters prepare to decide whether to automatically restore the voting rights of about 1.5 million felons, the state is grappling with how to handle its lengthy backlog of clemency cases. More than 10,000 felons are currently waiting for their applications to be reviewed by the Florida Commission on Offender Review, which has to […]
Scott PowersNovember 29, 2017
4min275
Hours after Gov. Rick Scott declined to talk specifically about the posthumous pardons requested for the Groveland Four — 1940s victims of racial injustice that led to two being killed and two going to prison — the governor’s office said Wednesday he is aware of the case and reviewing options. “Governor Scott is aware of […]