Member Submission: Voting Rights
I have emailed this to several blog,newspaper,s and grassroots organizations. Please join me in speaking up!
Florida constitutional amendment 4 specifically excludes those ex-felons who had committed a sex offense from being re-enfranchised.
Why keep the vote from these people? They did their time, just like any other ex-felon. (And some have been offense-free, and have finished their sentences, for decades.)
What specific reason could there be for excluding them other than simply punishing them again after they have fully completed their sentences?
Are lawmakers somehow afraid that registrants might vote to legalize child pornography or to normalize pedophilia? This is absurd, and yet, there does not seem to be any other reason why sex offenders would be excluded from regaining the right to vote.
According to numerous state and university studies, as well as the United States Department of Justice, Bureau of Crime Statistics, they have lower recidivism rates than any other crime type! True, do the research!
They also tend to be more educated than any other ex-criminal.
The State of Florida is allowing persons to regain the vote who are assaulters, batterers, arsonists, bank robbers, smash and grab crooks, embezzlers, con-artists, serial and repeat offenders, gun slingers, gang lords…etc. etc. etc.
Is there any logical reason to keep former sex offenders from voting, or is it just a visceral “I hate you for what you did”?
I am a former sex offender and a current registrant. I will continue to speak out about my right to vote. I cannot express how strongly I feel about this. It is as if the State of Florida has declared war on me for the rest of my life. Are we Floridians really that merciless?
As long as Jim Crow lives on for a few, Jim Crow lives on!
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Tell the Govener we are middle aged white men, whose prime years are rotted away by the State of Florida
I am grateful for FAC’s attorney referral page. But I would be reluctant to consider using whichever one was “very hostile and demanded more money because the nature of the charge,” as suggested below. Perhaps that is a situation worth reviewing.
I would also include in the letter that without the right to vote is “taxation without representation”, a core tenet of our constitutional republic.
There is no statue it’s a matter of that county accepting you. Can you help me please. Thank you
Michael – you are asking for help with your current sentence and that help should only come from someone that is licensed and qualified to provide that help.
We emphatically disclose that FAC is NOT a law firm and you should not rely on the anecdotal comments of anyone who posts here for guidance on what to do with your probation. This comment thread has fallen off-topic from the post and solicits information that is outside the scope of this forum.
If you are looking for help transferring your probation to another jurisdiction, contact the attorney who represented you in your underlying case or the office of the public defender. If no luck, try your local legal-aid office. If those offices can’t help, we certainly can’t either.
The problem is attorneys are embarrassed to represent an SO and some are scared to speak up when they know the law. I think some are scared to bring things in front of a Judge that will set presidence. I know my attorney told me a couple story’s in like dui case and battery case he won in trail using case law and out smarting the Leo’s and the state and other defense attorneys told him were low blows and gave him a hard time and this attorney stood far away from me in court like making a point he hated this case. When he took my motion to court the judge didn’t wanta rule he told the state and defense to work it out and if they didn’t bring it back my attorney told me the state wouldn’t agree to anything and he didn’t return any more phone calls 2500 down the damn drain and all I’m trying todo is try to get my PO to stop calling my customers so I can operate My business I’ve had 20 years One of the attorneys you have posted on here I visited him and he was very hostile and demanded more money because the nature of the charge lol the nature was a freaking retro active law violation from a 26 year old Statuary rape when I was a kid myself i did the time on so people seeking help cause they are getting fat lies from a lot of these attorneys and the good attorney you have on here isn’t affordable to most of us like 500 an hour I think. One problem is paid attorneys are hard to weed out and you can’t get a PD full of fire like I had when I was broke if you have a little cash so what do you do but surf the web looking for case law but hiring the right man for the job is very hard todo. The attorney you have on here doesn’t do the things I need so your reading reviews of attorneys and reading once they get the money nothing so damn it’s frustrating. Providing case law with these story’s would help I mean if you don’t hand it to the attorney good chance your getting wam bam thank you man for your money.
My mistake it was meant for someone else
The probation and parole department have to approve you what ever county in Florida you are going to. For New York my mom is in a nursing home. I have a place to stay but really no support
What does your interest in moving to New York have to do with voting rights for sex offenders in Florida?
My mistake it was meant for someone else