A new lawsuit by a group of ex-felons seeks to change the strict Florida law that restricts voting rights for felons. The seven plaintiffs in the class action have sued Governor Rick Scott claiming the law restricting their rights is unconstitutional. The case is filed in the U.S. District Court for the Northern District of Florida. This suit was brought by the non-partisan Fair Elections Legal Network on behalf of the seven plaintiffs. It takes aim at the process by which they can seek to regain their voting rights. There is a backlog of more than 10,000 petitions to have voting rights restored. Over 1.6 million people in Florida have lost their voting rights, as the South Florida Sun-Sentinel cited research from The Sentencing Project. In many states, those convicted of felonies find their voting rights restricted. Florida, however, strips all former felons of voting rights. In 2011, Scott and Republican lawmakers enacted laws requiring felons to wait for five to seven years after their sentences are completed before even applying to have their voting rights reinstated. The Sentencing Project estimates that across America 6.1 million Americans have lost their voting rights.
“So few people had their rights restored during Gov. Scott’s first term that many others stopped applying,” according to the project’s website. “Applications for restoration of civil rights under Gov. Scott have dropped by nearly 95% from former Gov. Charlie Crist’s administration.”
Howard Simon is the Executive Director of the American Civil Liberties Union (ACLU) of Florida. He describes the Florida laws regarding voting rights as a holdover from the era immediately after the Civil War.
“Florida was part of the Confederacy, and when the Civil War was over it was necessary to re-do the Florida constitution,” Simon told the Florida Record. “It was necessary to extend full rights of citizenship to all of the former slaves. A whole structure was put in pace to comply with that requirement from the federal government, but also to deprive the black community of their political power.
Full Article: New class action brought by former felons aims to restore voting rights | Florida Record.