Florida: Restore Voting Rights for 1.6 Million People with Felony Convictions
By Leigh Chapman, Senior Policy Advisor at Let America Vote
Overview
On November 8, 2016, we saw what will probably become one of the most consequential elections in American history, yet one out of every 10 voting age Floridians was unable to cast a ballot. That’s because Florida is one of only three states in the country, along with Iowa and Kentucky, where any felony conviction results in a lifetime ban on voting.[i] As a result, about 1.6 million Floridians — equal to the populations of Orlando, Jacksonville, and Miami combined — are prevented from voting for the rest of their lives.[ii] This ban affects Democrats and Republicans alike and disproportionately impacts African American voters. One in five black Floridians are barred from voting because of this policy.[iii]
Let America Vote’s Position
Let America Vote believes that the right to cast a ballot is the most basic civil right. Stripping away that right creates a class of people still subject to the laws of the United States but without a voice in the way they are governed. The restoration of voting rights is not only a question of criminal justice but, fundamentally, of what it means to be a citizen. These disenfranchised Floridians have fulfilled their sentences and paid their debts to society.
This is about politicians trying to select their own voters, plain and simple.
Background
Criminal disenfranchisement was a common practice throughout the United States in the nineteenth and early twentieth centuries. In the late-1900s, however, the tide started to turn toward a restoration of voting rights for those who had paid their debts to society.
In April 2007, Florida’s Republican Governor Charlie Crist persuaded his state’s clemency board to vote in favor of allowing Floridians with felony convictions to regain their voting rights after completing their sentences. Gov. Crist argued that it was time to leave the “offensive minority” of states that still impeded access to the ballot box for those who had completed their time in jail or prison.[iv] Over 150,000 Floridians had their voting rights restored during Gov. Crist’s term.[v]
All that changed in 2011.
After taking office following the 2010 election, Republican Gov. Rick Scott quickly reversed the work of his predecessor that had eased the ability of Floridians with felony convictions to restore their voting rights, so long as they had not been convicted of murder or a sexual offense.
With Gov. Scott’s executive action, his state became one of the most punitive in the country with the stroke of a pen. Overnight, the possibility of restoring access to the ballot disappeared for over one million Floridians who were once again subjected to a lengthy, fraught, and nearly-impossible to navigate clemency process through which they might regain their lost right.
Four years after Gov. Scott’s reversal, fewer than 2,000 out of an estimated 1.6 million Florida citizens who have been disenfranchised — or about one tenth of one percent — have successfully completed the clemency process.[vi]
Who’s Affected
Florida disenfranchises more of its citizens than any other state, but the vast majority of disenfranchised voters in Florida are no longer in prison. In fact, nearly 9 out of 10 Floridians who cannot vote due to a felony conviction have finished their entire sentence, which includes prison, parole, and/or probation.[vii] These Floridians are free from incarceration but are still locked out of the voting booth, even though they are tax paying citizens supporting their communities. This restriction hits people of color the hardest.
More than one in five black Floridians are permanently denied the right to vote by the status quo. [viii]
Why it Matters
The restoration of voting rights reduces recidivism rates
A 2012 study published in the University of California-Berkeley’s legal journal found that people with felony convictions who had been permanently disenfranchised were significantly more likely to commit another crime.[ix] Researchers Guy Padraic Hamilton-Smith and Matt Vogel write, “Taken as a whole, these findings indicate that states which permanently disenfranchise ex-felons experience significantly higher repeat offense rates than states that do not.” These findings are a crucial piece of evidence to weigh for policymakers. Even a study conducted by the Florida Parole Commission itself found that those who had their civil rights restored were less likely to commit another crime and return to prison or jail.[x] We see that punitive disenfranchisement in fact has the opposite intent of any criminal justice program — permanent disenfranchisement of the type we see in Florida makes crime more likely to occur, not less.
Cost to taxpayers
Not only is the current clemency process long and difficult and nearly impossible for anyone to successfully navigate — it’s also quite expensive. Florida spends nearly $10 million every single year on the Florida Commission on Offender Review, which is tasked with reviewing applications for clemency.[xi] An automatic process by which those who have completed their sentences have their voting rights restored would be a simpler, fairer process and could save the state almost one hundred million dollars over the course of a decade.
Personal Narrative: Jessica Chiappone
In 1999, Jessica Chiappone was arrested at Newark Liberty International Airport for conspiracy to possess cocaine, a federal felony, on her way to Switzerland. She took a plea deal and served seven months in federal prison, one year in a Brooklyn halfway house, and three years on supervised release. After finishing her time, she went on to attend and graduate from college — the first person in her family to do so — and then attended law school in Florida.
“In Florida, on top of the predetermined waiting period, which can be five to seven years based on your offense, it can take up to another 10 years just due to backlog and just the administrative process,” Ms. Chiappone told Let America Vote. “In my case, I applied in 2008, before I started law school. And when I completed law school, I still hadn’t had my rights restored […] which was about fifteen years after I had been arrested.”
Nearly 20 years have passed since Ms. Chiappone was arrested, and she finally had her voting rights restored. But she will be the first person to tell you that she had an enormous advantage as someone who had attended law school and had a clear understanding of the legal system.
The facts are simple: Florida’s status quo is unsustainable, makes it more difficult for people who have been convicted of felonies to reintegrate into society, and things must change. Ms. Chiappone has a suggestion: “If you’d like to help, reach out to FRRC, the Florida Rights Restoration Coalition.”
Fighting Back: Florida Rights Restoration Coalition & Floridians for a Fair Democracy
Tens of thousands of Floridians, motivated by the searing injustice of Gov. Scott’s actions, have mobilized to restore the right to vote for felons — who have not been convicted of murder or a sexual offense — after they have completed all terms of their sentences, including parole and/or probation via a constitutional amendment. Ms. Chiappone has been the Vice President of the Florida Rights Restoration Coalition for six years, and is assisting with FRRC’s newest project: Floridians for a Fair Democracy (FFD).
Floridians for a Fair Democracy is leading the charge to gather the nearly 800,000 petition signatures needed by February 1, 2018 in order to place a constitutional amendment on the ballot for November. If they are able to gather enough signatures and at least 60% of Floridians vote in favor of the amendment, the constitution would be amended to include the language and would restore the franchise to the estimated 1.6 million Floridians who are currently barred from exercising their right to vote. This would be a huge win for anyone who believes in second chances.
The ballot summary, which was recently approved by the Florida Supreme Court, is as follows:
Voting Restoration Amendment
This amendment restores the voting rights of Floridians with felony convictions after they complete all terms of their sentence including parole or probation. The amendment would not apply to those convicted of murder or sexual offenses, who would continue to be permanently barred from voting unless the Governor and Cabinet vote to restore their voting rights on a case by case basis.[xii]
If advocates are successful in gathering the needed signatures by February 2018, the above item will appear on the ballot in November 2018.
Personal Narrative: Michael Orlando
Michael Orlando was 20 years old when he was charged with felony possession of 20 grams of cannabis. “It was my first time getting in trouble as an adult, my first time going through the criminal justice system,” he told Let America Vote.
“It was a scary situation. […] I had no idea the impact it would have on my life moving forward until I got out and started trying to get back to normality and get a job. I knew I couldn’t vote, that is something they do tell you. You can’t be on a jury. You can’t run for public office. Things that weren’t important to me at 20, but, as I get older, when I want to become a functioning member of the community, as a business owner, and I want to turn my life around… It’s just discouraging. That’s the only way to put it.”
Michael has turned his life around and is a proud member of his community. When we spoke with him, he told us multiple times that when he had finished his sentence, he wanted to feel whole — and that as long as we did not have his rights, he felt incomplete.
“I think it’s common sense that someone who’s completed their sentence should become whole once they re-enter society. I think that’s a given. They should be equipped with all the tools necessary to succeed. If a person doesn’t succeed, if they can’t get out and do right, and they face all these barricades these roadblocks, they’re eventually going to say, ‘You know what? This is impossible.’” Michael sees the restoration of voting rights as an important step to making whole those who have served their time.
“As far as rights restoration goes, it’s more of an encouraging thing, it’s about getting people feeling like they can contribute, and feeling that they’re whole and equal. Because you’re leaving a door open for one to be discriminated against. You’re taking away a person’s rights. And I don’t see how taking away the right to vote is in the interest of public safety.”
Expert Insight: Dan Smith
Florida election experts have long warned about the impact of the state’s restrictive voting rights laws on the fairness of Florida elections. Not only does Florida’s difficult process have its roots in a dark chapter of Florida’s past, it has detrimental effects on the present, too. University of Florida professor Dan Smith, a leading voice on state elections, shared his thoughts with us.
“Florida’s law harkens back to the days of Jim Crow. Most states — with the exception of Kentucky and Iowa — have moved forward over the last century toward a more enlightened view of the ability of those who have been convicted of felonies, and especially those who have already served their time, to be able to reintegrated into society by restoring their civil rights, including voting rights,” he told us.
Further, in a report on Florida’s disenfranchisement policies, the Brennan Center for Justice writes, “Mass disenfranchisement has severe consequences for Florida’s communities. For instance, one study found that African Americans, in communities subject to harsh disenfranchisement laws, experience a decrease in turnout levels, regardless if they themselves were incarcerated. These costs come with no benefits for Florida’s public safety. There is no connection between disenfranchisement and deterrence of future crime. Indeed, evidence from Florida suggests that voting makes criminal behavior less likely, explaining support for reform from figures in the law enforcement and corrections sectors.”
Professor Smith offered an important reminder about this issue: this should not be a partisan fight.
“This policy affects young and old, it affects Republicans and Democrats, liberals and conservatives. The folks who commit felonies are relatives of other Floridians, they realize how difficult it is for [people with a felony conviction] not necessarily just to vote or impossible to vote but how difficult it is to gain employment,” he said.
“When you look at the waiting lists of those who have done their time and put in their paperwork and just aren’t being processed, when you see those individuals and they tell their stories before the clemency board, we have to ask, ‘Well what more do we want of these individuals?’ and ‘Is this just punitive as opposed to having any real practical value when it comes to criminal code?’”
A Different Path — The Restoration of Voting Rights in Virginia
A similar story, but with a different ending, has taken place in Virginia. It was in fact the first state to ban citizens who had been convicted of felonies from ever voting again — like Florida, this was written into the state’s constitution. But it didn’t stay that way. In 2013, Republican Governor Bob McDonnell ended his state’s longtime practice of permanent disenfranchisement.[xiii]
His successor, Gov. Terry McAuliffe, expanded on Gov. McDonnell’s work. Gov. McAuliffe ended the requirement that those who had served their full sentence also have to pay court costs and fees — which are often prohibitive for those just leaving prison — before being able to vote. He has also instructed his administration to begin reviewing individuals on a case-by-case basis.
As of April 2017, Gov. McAuliffe’s administration had restored voting rights to over 156,000 Virginians who have completed their prison sentences — about the same number of people who benefited from the actions of Florida Gov. Crist.[xiv]
Learn More
To learn more about Let America Vote please visit letamericavote.org
To learn more about Florida’s campaign to end felon disenfranchisement, please visit the campaign’s website at floridiansforafairdemocracy.com
On their website, FFD has links to the full text of the Amendment, a copy of the petition you can sign if you live in Florida, and many opportunities to get involved in the campaign. Talking about the campaign with your friends and family to get them involved, too, can be a great first step in raising awareness and gathering the necessary signatures.
End Notes
[i] Voting Rights Restoration Efforts in Florida, Brennan Center for Justice (2017), https://www.brennancenter.org/analysis/voting-rights-restoration-efforts-florida (last visited Jul 20, 2017). (Note: Virginia is also technically one of these states, but practically, its governor continually restores these rights on a rolling basis.)
[ii] Christopher Uggen, Ryan Larson & Sarah Shannon, 6 Million lost Voters: State-Level Estimates of Felony Disenfranchisement, 2016, The Sentencing Project, http://www.sentencingproject.org/wp-content/uploads/2016/10/6-Million-Lost-Voters.pdf (last visited Jul 7, 2017).
[iii] K.K. Rebecca Lai & Jasmine C. Lee, Why 10% of Florida Adults Can’t Vote: How Felony Convictions Affect Access to the Ballot, The New York Times, October 6, 2016, https://www.nytimes.com/interactive/2016/10/06/us/unequal-effect-of-laws-that-block-felons-from-voting.html (last visited July 20, 2017).
[iv] Abby Goodnough, In a Break from the Past Florida Will Let Felons Vote, The New York Times, April 6, 2007, http://www.nytimes.com/2007/04/06/us/06florida.html (last visited Jul 12, 2017).
[v] Steven Lemongello, Push to Restore Voting Rights to Ex-Felons Reaches Supreme Court, Orlando Sentinel, March 6, 2017, http://www.orlandosentinel.com/news/politics/political-pulse/os-former-felon-voting-rights-20170223-story.html (last visited July 6, 2017).
[vi] Id.
[vii] Uggen et al., supra note 2.
[viii] Lai & Lee, supra note 3.
[ix] Guy Padraic Himilton-Smith & Matt Vogel, The Violence of Voicelessness: The Impact of Felony Disenfranchisement on Recidivism, 22 La Raza L.J. 407 (2012).
[x] Florida Parole Commission, Status Update: Restoration of Civil Rights’ (RCR) Cases Granted, 2009 and 2010 (July 1, 2011), available at https://www.fcor.state.fl.us/docs/reports/2009-2010ClemencyReport.pdf.
[xi] Florida Commission on Offender Review, 2016 Annual Report (Dec. 2016), available at https://www.fcor.state.fl.us/docs/reports/FCORannualreport201516.pdf.
[xii] Florida Voting Rights Restoration for Felons Initiative (2018), Ballotpedia, https://ballotpedia.org/Florida_Voting_Rights_Restoration_for_Felons_Initiative_(2018) (last visited July 20, 2017).
[xiii] Voting Rights Restoration Efforts in Virginia, Brennan Center for Justice (2017).
https://www.brennancenter.org/analysis/voting-rights-restoration-efforts-virginia (last visited Jul 20, 2017).
[xiv] Id.
