Florida: State wont tap into $19 million of federal election money in time for 2018 elections | Sun Sentinel

Florida doesn’t plan to tap its $19.2 million allocation from the federal government to enhance election cybersecurity in time for this year’s primary election in August or general election in November. A total of $380 million was allocated for the states to improve election security and technology. The money was contained in the massive federal budget deal passed in March. Florida’s top election official, Secretary of State Ken Detzner, said Tuesday the state wouldn’t be spending the money for this year’s elections. “The answer is no,” he said during a break at the spring conference of the Florida State Association of Supervisors of Elections in Fort Lauderdale.

Florida: Early voting ban on campus challenged in court | Tampa Bay Times

A new lawsuit accuses Gov. Rick Scott's administration of making it more difficult for young people to vote by preventing early voting at public buildings on state university campuses. The election-year complaint filed Tuesday by the League of Women Voters seeks to strike down a four-year-old interpretation of Florida's early voting laws by Scott's chief elections officer, Secretary of State Ken Detzner. Detzner's office issued an opinion in 2014 that the Legislature's expansion of early voting sites to include "government-owned community centers" does not include the student union building on the University of Florida campus in Gainesville. The city of Gainesville asked if the Reitz Student Union building on the UF campus could serve as an early voting site in 2014. The state said no.

Florida: Supervisors Focus On Security Ahead Of Fall Elections | WLRN

Supervisors of elections throughout Florida are preparing for the upcoming election season, with the secruity of the voting process being a top priority. After the 2016 elections, such elements as voter registration rolls and machines were designated as "critical infrastructure." That means more funding from the Department of Homeland Security has poured into local elections offices to help protect them. Hillsborough County Supervisor of Elections Craig Latimer said that money has allowed local elections officials like himself to check the security of registration information and the machines voters will use to cast their ballots.

Florida: Report: Not restoring felons’ rights costs Florida $385M a year | Miami Herald

Seven years after Gov. Rick Scott and the Florida Cabinet voted to end the state policy that automatically restored the civil rights of nonviolent offenders after they complete their sentences, a price tag has emerged. Florida lost an estimated $385 million a year in economic impact, spent millions on court and prison costs, had 3,500 more offenders return to prison, and lost the opportunity to create about 3,800 new jobs. Those are just some of the conclusions of a new economic research report prepared by the Republican-leaning Washington Economics Group of Coral Gables for proponents of Amendment 4, the proposal on the November ballot that asks voters to allow the automatic restoration of civil rights for eligible felons who have served their sentences.

Florida: Russian hackers, long lines, voting data: What Florida elections officials are talking about this week | Tampa Bay Times

The people who count votes in Florida realize the eyes of the nation will be on them again as millions of people make their choices in the 2018 election. Supervisors of elections from the state's 67 counties will meet this week at a Fort Lauderdale oceanfront resort hotel for three days of brainstorming. They're preparing for a trouble-free midterm election in the nation's premier battleground state, with its long history of close races and nail-biting election nights. Here are five specific issues they will deal with at their annual summer conference. The possibility of more malicious attempts, especially from Russian hackers, to disrupt Florida's election is on every election supervisor's mind. "It's the No. 1 priority on every election supervisor's preparation list," said Pinellas Supervisor of Elections Deborah Clark. Supervisors will hear from a top official of the U.S. Department of Homeland Security on what more should be done to protect the integrity of voting systems. The conference comes just days after President Donald J. Trump eliminated the position of national cybersecurity coordinator.

Florida: Porous campaign finance laws: ‘You can do almost anything’ | Associated Press

Florida's wide-open race for governor won't be decided for another six months, but it's already triggered a wave of expensive television ad buys from groups taking advantage of gray areas in the state's campaign finance laws. Campaigns are interpreting the law so liberally — and some experts think they will get away with it — that it could essentially render the laws meaningless. So far, at least $13 million has been spent on television ads in the governor's race that includes two Republicans and four Democrats vying for the job that will be vacated by Gov. Rick Scott. Television ads are poised to play a crucial role in the race since polls continue to show a majority of the state's voters don't really know the Republican or Democratic candidates vying to replace him.

Florida: Amid election cyber-threats, counties plead with state: Send that money | Tampa Bay Times

Faced with cyber-security threats to their voting systems, Florida election supervisors are eager to get access to some of the $19 million in federal election security money Congress sent states nearly two months ago. But they say all they're hearing from the state is crickets. "We sure wish the money was available. It's frustrating," said supervisor Mark Earley in Tallahassee's Leon County. "This is a big deal. There's certainly room for improvement, especially in smaller counties." Congress included $380 million in a 2018 budget bill and in March directed the U.S. Election Assistance Commission to distribute the money to states. President Donald J. Trump signed the budget bill on March 23. "The EAC is releasing this money quickly so that the grants can have an immediate impact," the commission said on March 29. The money will help counties "immediately begin system upgrades."

Florida: UWF Center for Cybersecurity partners with FDLE to enhance cybersecurity | UWF Newsroom

On the heels of a cyberattack that grounded city services in Atlanta, employees entrusted with protecting their agencies trained on how to thwart attacks during two courses at the University of West Florida. The UWF Center for Cybersecurity partnered with the Florida Department of Law Enforcement and Texas A&M Engineering Extension Services to host the courses on May 10-11 at the UWF Conference Center. Employees from the FDLE, Escambia County Board of County Commissioners, Escambia County School District, Okaloosa County Board of County Commissioners and First Judicial Circuit of Florida, among others, participated in the training sessions less than two months after the ransomware attack in Atlanta. “I think the best solutions are always the collaborative ones, so that we can combine efforts to bring more cybersecurity knowledge and awareness to the community and enhance the resiliency of our region and state,” said Dr. Eman El-Sheikh, UWF Center for Cybersecurity director.

Florida: Felon Takes Lead in Fight to Restore Voting Rights | VoA News

In 2004, Desmond Meade, while serving a 15-year prison sentence for a drug offense in Florida, got a break. An appeals court returned his conviction to the original trial bench, allowing him to plead guilty to a lesser charge and get out of prison in three years, most of which he had already served. But his freedom came with a price, something that didn’t quite register with him at the time: as part of his plea agreement with prosecutors, Meade agreed to give up his civil rights: the right to vote, to serve on a jury and to run for office. “At the time, when I first accepted the plea deal, I didn’t understand the consequences,” Meade says. Fourteen years and a pair of college and law degrees later, Meade, now 50, still can’t vote; his application to regain his civil rights was rejected in 2011. The reason: a new Florida law that requires felons like him to wait for seven years before they could apply for rights restoration.

Florida: State to monitor Broward election chief after judge finds ‘unlawful’ ballot destruction in Wasserman Schultz race | Poitico

The elections supervisor in Florida’s second-most populous county broke state and federal law by unlawfully destroying ballots cast in Rep. Debbie Wasserman Schultz’s 2016 Democratic primary, a judge ruled Friday in a case brought by the congresswoman’s challenger who wanted to check for voting irregularities. In light of the ruling, Gov. Rick Scott’s administration — which has expressed concerns with how Broward County Election Supervisor Brenda Snipes has handled the case — told POLITICO that he’s reviewing the judge’s order and will have her office monitored. “During the upcoming election, the Department of State will send a Florida elections expert from the Division of Elections to Supervisor Snipes’ office to ensure that all laws are followed so the citizens of Broward County can have the efficient, properly run election they deserve,” Scott’s office said in a written statement.

Florida: Voting officials fire back at Marco Rubio’s criticism over cyber-threats | Miami Herald

As the threat of another attempted cyberattack hovers ominously over Florida’s 2018 election, voting officials in the state are livid at U.S. Sen. Marco Rubio for claiming they are “overconfident” and not taking the possibility seriously enough. “That’s just not the case,” said Clay County Supervisor of Elections Chris Chambless. “We are all deeply concerned about the threat and are taking steps to limit the exposure. I thought that his comments were very inaccurate.” Rubio made his remarks in mid-April at a Florida Association of Counties meeting in Washington. “I don’t think they fully understand the nature of the threat,” Rubio said. Taken aback by Rubio’s criticism, Chambless and a second supervisor, Dana Southerland of Taylor County, separately tried to speak to Rubio. Both told the Times/Herald they got no response from his office.

Florida: Governor orders hiring of election security consultants | Associated Press

Florida Gov. Rick Scott said Thursday that the state would hire special election security consultants in advance of this year's critical elections despite state legislators rejecting a similar request earlier this year. Scott and state officials had asked the Florida Legislature to create a cybersecurity unit in the state's elections office to combat a "growing threat." The move came after an effort to infiltrate the state's election systems during the 2016 elections. Legislators did not agree to the request so the Republican governor said the state would hire five employees under contract to assist Florida election officials. State officials said they would use a federal grant to pay for the security consultants.

Florida: Path to restore felon voting rights hits roadblock | WFLA

There were some fast-moving developments this past week in the ongoing debate over restoring felon voting rights in the state of Florida. This week was supposed to be the deadline for Governor Rick Scott and the State's Clemency Board to craft a new plan for restoring voting rights for felons after a Federal judge in Tallahassee ruled in February that the state’s current framework is unconstitutional. After calling a last-minute emergency meeting for Wednesday night, just hours before the plan was supposed to be presented to Judge Mark Walker – the 11th Circuit Court of Appeals stepped in -- putting everything -- including the voting rights of more than 1.6  million potential voters -- on hold.

Florida: Group asks appeals court to hear case to purge Broward voter rolls | Sun Sentinel

A federal court case isn’t over yet against Broward Elections Supervisor Brenda Snipes. It claims she isn’t moving quickly enough to remove ineligible voters from the county’s roles. The American Civil Rights Union filed notice Sunday that it is appealing U.S. District Judge Beth Bloom’s March decision that found Snipes’ office was following the state’s requirements. The notice went to the U.S. Court of Appeals for the 11th Circuit. The ACRU and other conservative organizations have accused elections offices across the nation of not doing a good enough job purging their rolls of ineligible voters — including people who had died, moved, committed felonies or were not U.S. citizens. And they say that could encourage vote fraud.

Florida: Prison Reform Group Calls for Full Restoration of Felons Rights | Public News Service

The Reverend Al Sharpton and other local and national church and civic leaders are expected to rally in Tallahassee Thursday, calling for the restoration of voting rights for ex-felons. The issue of felons' rights has long been controversial but in recent weeks a judge struck down the state's current system of restoring voting rights to felons and ordered a new system to be instituted by April 26. Gov. Rick Scott and the Cabinet had a month to revamp the rules, but it was only last night that he called on the Cabinet to have an emergency meeting to address the issue after failed attempts to challenge the ruling in court.

Florida: Appeals court delays changes in felon voting-rights system | Orlando Sentinel

Florida’s system of restoring voting rights to ex-felons remains intact, for now at least, after a federal appeals court Wednesday night delayed a judge’s ruling issued in February that had struck down the system. The decision from the Atlanta-based U.S. 11th Circuit Court of Appeals prevented a late-night meeting of the Florida Clemency Board, which was called by Gov. Rick Scott to comply with the lower court’s Thursday deadline to adopt new voting rights restoration rules. “We are glad that the 11th Circuit Court of Appeals has stayed the lower court’s reckless ruling,’’ said Scott spokesman John Tupps. “Judges should interpret the law, not create it.’’

Florida: Fearing court action, Rick Scott calls emergency meeting of clemency board | Tampa Bay Times

Gov. Rick Scott called an emergency meeting of the Cabinet for Wednesday in anticipation of a federal court not approving a delay in adopting a new system of granting the right to vote to convicted felons. Scott acted in the absence of a decision of the 11th Circuit Court of Appeals in Atlanta, which has not acted on the state's request to stay a lower court decision that struck down the state's system of restoring voting rights to felons and ordered a new system to be instituted by April 26.

Florida: NAACP wants ‘tone deaf’ Scott to end ‘posturing’ on voting rights | Tampa Bay Times

The Florida state conference of the NAACP wants Gov. Rick Scott and the Cabinet to drop their appeal of a court decision that struck down the 150-year old system for restoring voting rights to convicted felons. The four Republican state officials filed a motion Monday with the 11th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals in Atlanta, asking for that court to put on hold the March 27 order by U.S. District Judge Mark Walker until the state's appeal runs its course. "The appeal shows the Governor and Florida Cabinet are tone deaf," NAACP President Adora Obi Mweze said in a statement. "The continued posturing by our state officials shows the importance of Floridians supporting Amendment 4 this fall."

Florida: Rick Scott, Cabinet seek to delay court order on felons’ voting rights | Tampa Bay Times

Gov. Rick Scott and the Florida Cabinet formally asked a federal appeals court Monday to delay a judge's order to revamp the state's system of restoring voting rights to convicted felons. The four statewide officials say a delay pending an appeal is necessary to avoid "chaos and uncertainty" in two upcoming elections in Florida. The request for a stay was filed by Attorney General Pam Bondi in the 11th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals in Atlanta 10 days before the effective date of U.S. District Judge Mark Walker's order that directs the state to scrap an unconstitutional vote restoration process and replace it by April 26.

Florida: Warning of Russians, Florida Democrats push state to fortify election systems | Tampa Bay Times

Democrats here are pressing Florida Secretary of State Ken Detzner to seek federal funding to fortify election equipment and systems databases. "While most state systems were not breached, the U.S. Intelligence Community has repeatedly warned that Russia will try to disrupt midterm elections in November 2018," reads a letter sent from Florida House members. "In fact, Director of National Intelligence Dan Coats told the Senate Intelligence Committee: "There should be no doubt that Russia perceived that its past efforts as successful and views the 2018 U.S. midterm election as a potential target for Russian midterm operations."

Florida: Gov. Scott appeals judge’s ruling on voting rights for felons | Tampa Bay Times

Gov. Rick Scott and the state's three Cabinet members are appealing a federal judge's ruling that they must overhaul Florida's system for restoring felons' voting rights and come up with a remedy by April 26. "People elected by Floridians should determine Florida's clemency rules for convicted criminals, not federal judges," Scott spokesman John Tupps said in a statement. "This process has been in place for decades and is outlined in both the U.S. and Florida constitutions." The state also asked to delay meeting the April 26 deadline, which drew a sharp rebuke from the judge, U.S. District Judge Mark Walker. Last month, he ordered Scott and the Cabinet — Attorney General Pam Bondi, Agriculture Commissioner Adam Putnam and Chief Financial Officer Jimmy Patronis — to figure out a more fair way to restore voting rights for most felons who have completed their sentences.

Florida: Federal judge claps back hard after Florida challenges ruling on felons’ voting rights | Orlando Weekly

In a searing clapback of the kind usually reserved for especially trifling people, Walker struck down a challenge from Gov. Rick Scott's administration against overhauling Florida's controversial voting rights restoration process for former felons. "Rather than comply with the requirements of the United States Constitution, defendants continue to insist they can do whatever they want with hundreds of thousands of Floridians’ voting rights and absolutely zero standards," Walker wrote. "They ask this Court to stay its prior orders." "No."

Florida: Judge rules in favor of Broward elections office in voter fraud lawsuit | Sun Sentinel

A federal judge Friday cleared Broward Elections Supervisor Brenda Snipes in a lawsuit that accused her office of facilitating voter fraud. U.S. District Judge Beth Bloom concluded that Snipes had a program in place “that makes a reasonable effort to remove the names of ineligible voters from the official lists of eligible voters by reason of death or change of address.”Bloom said the American Civil Rights Union, which filed suit against Snipes because of the potential for voter fraud, had not proven that the Broward elections office violated the National Voting Rights Act.

Florida: Judge orders Florida to create way to restore felons’ rights | Miami Herald

A judge on Tuesday ordered Gov. Rick Scott and the Cabinet to dismantle Florida’s “fatally flawed” system of arbitrarily restoring voting rights to felons and to replace it by April 26. U.S. District Judge Mark Walker in Tallahassee issued a permanent injunction in support of the Fair Elections Legal Network, which sued the state a year ago. The group successfully challenged the constitutionality of the state’s 150-year-old voting rights restoration process for felons in the nation’s third-largest state. “This is a victory for the principle that the right to vote cannot be subjected to officials’ gut instincts and whims,” said Jon Sherman, senior counsel for the nonprofit voting rights group. “We are also heartened that the court prevented Florida from following through on its threat to be the only state in the nation with an irrevocable lifetime ban on voting for all former felons — what the court called ‘the ultimate arbitrary act.’ ”

Florida: Judge orders governor to create new process to restore voting rights of convicted felons | The Hill

A federal judge has ordered Florida Gov. Rick Scott (R) to create a new system to restore voting rights for convicted felons, the Tampa Bay Times reported Tuesday. U.S. District Judge Mark Walker gave Scott and three of his elected Cabinet members until April 26 to create the new system. The order was part of an injunction issued by Walker in favor of the Fair Elections Legal Network, which successfully sued Florida over the state’s system for restoring voting rights to convicted felons. Currently, the state can strip convicted felons of their voting rights unless the decision is overturned by the governor and Cabinet. Those felons cannot register to vote unless they are given back their voting rights.

Florida: Scott, Cabinet delay dozens of voting rights cases after legal setback | Tampa Bay Times

Barbara Gaines' son got a pardon from Gov. Rick Scott and the Cabinet, and she got Scott's autograph, too. The Orlando woman and her son were among the lucky ones Thursday. Dozens of other people who lost the right to vote from long-ago felony convictions remain in limbo because a federal judge has struck down Florida's civil rights restoration process as unconstitutional. After waiting for years for their petitions to be considered, they traveled to Tallahassee to seek mercy from Scott and the three Cabinet members, who meet quarterly as the board of clemency. But with the restoration process discredited by the courts, the cases weren't considered. "Several cases that were scheduled to be heard today have been continued because a federal judge has objected to our system for restoring civil rights," Scott said as the meeting began. "Although we strongly disagree with the judge's ruling, we will respect his order not to consider applications for restoration of civil rights while we appeal his decision."

Florida: Federal judge asked to give voting rights to ex-prisoners | Associated Press

Florida's legal battle over voting rights for ex-prisoners escalated on Monday, as the state and a voting rights organization representing former felons made dramatically different requests of a federal judge. Lawyers who have sued Florida want U.S. District Judge Mark Walker to order the automatic restoration of voting rights to anyone who has been out of prison at least five years. Walker ruled earlier this month that the state's system of restoring voting rights to felons who have served their time is arbitrary and unconstitutional. Gov. Rick Scott, however, says that Walker should refrain from ordering the state to take any action. Instead the judge should leave it up to the governor and other state officials to decide how to change the current system.

Florida: More than a third of all US ex-cons who can’t vote live in Florida. Why? | CSMonitor

The first time the Florida poet Devin Coleman voted was also his last. It was 2000, Gore v. Bush – when his was among millions of votes in play as the US Supreme Court called the winner and set the eventual arc of American affairs. Not long thereafter, Mr. Coleman was involved in a fight at a house party. His arrest led to eventual burglary charges, a prison sentence, and the revocation of his right to vote. Nearly two decades later, Coleman, now 39, is a father, published author, public speaker, and college graduate. But he says his disenfranchisement has shaded those successes.

Florida: Lawmakers Debate Expansion Of Digital Voting, Tallying Machines | WLRN

Florida lawmakers want to expand the use of digital voting and tallying machines. Many of the state’s election managers are behind the plan. But critics don’t want to leave the paper ballot behind. … Leon County Elections Supervisor Mark Earley supports the bill. He says digital recounts would be more effective and efficient. “We would’ve not only been able to find the paper very quickly because of the digital ballot sorting that is inherent in this audit system, the great power of it, it’s very visual and transparent. We could’ve seen the problem ballots, assessed the images. And if the county commission or canvasing board so desired, they could have immediately said, 'Let’s go see these 60 ballots or these 38 ballots' or whatever it was that were in dispute, and we could’ve pulled the paper very easily out of the box,"Earley said.