How Amendment 4 fails violent felons
SOURCE: The Independent Florida Alligator.
Murder and sex crimes.
These are the two exceptions under which felons in Florida will be denied the right to vote. If Amendment 4 passes in the November elections, it will otherwise grant voting rights to all felons, who under current Florida laws are stripped of their voting rights after conviction. Murder and sex crimes at first glance seem like two reasonable exceptions. After all, we think of these two types of offenses as more heinous and reprehensible than other crimes.
Although the thought of sharing a cab ride with a violent felon or sex offender may make you uncomfortable, we ask you to consider how vital voting rights are — whether we should deny that critical right no matter how long an offender has been reformed and no matter how productive they are.
We support Amendment 4. But we must also think critically about those who Amendment 4 leaves behind.
The amendment is a promise to those who made serious errors in judgment. It is about second chances. Redemption. Reintegration into the community. The amendment is about getting these ex-criminals to be civically engaged, participating in government and making up for lost time. For those convicted of robbery, burglary, assault, corruption, drug possession or distribution, the amendment serves as a life preserver thrown from shore — a statement that we believe in their ability to make good choices both in candidates and in life.
But for those convicted of murder or sex crimes, the amendment is a shut door.
Amendment 4 is a statement to those felons that their crimes were so egregious that they cannot return to full citizenship. They will not be rehabilitated. It tells them that their lapse in judgment was so disgraceful, repugnant and unforgivable that even voting for elected office is a privilege too high for them.
Why is this is an ill-advised message to send to some felons and not others? Because the recidivism rate, the rate at which offenders commit other crimes after being released, is drastically lower for those who have their voting rights restored. The reoffense rate drops by about 30 percent for those who have been given their voting rights back after being released, according to studies from the Governor’s Board of Executive Clemency, which is currently the body that restores voting rights. After November, when Amendment 4 hopefully passes, the recidivism rate will likely drop for those convicted of non-violent offenses. For those convicted of murder and sex offenses, it will not. Keeping these felons from voting does not make Florida a safer state.
We should not keep needlessly punishing criminals after they serve jail time. If we expect all felons to shoulder the burdens of full citizenship, we should grant all felons their rights accordingly.
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Maybe they should have the real criminals on another Registry Those who beat their kids,abuse their wives and fail to pay child support. I wonder how fast those that do this would like to have fliers and other personal information sent to their neighbors..Maybe they should not to be allowed not to vote either!!!
can someone explain Amendment 11 ? Legally…I can’t find much here.
If the legislature reduces sentencing guidelines, the reduction can be retroactive, and people can be released from prison.
Amendment 4 should allow for ALL felons to have the right to vote, no exclusions. Why sexual offenses are equivalent to someone who commits murder is beyond me. This country makes me sad. Well I handed my sample ballot to my SO boyfriend to complete & I will go vote with his choices. You took away his right to vote & I gave up my right to vote so that he can vote.
That’s really cool of you Dee.
Thank you Dee If there more woman like you some of us guys would not been on this Sh*t Registry in the first place!!!! A big thank from Arizona
I am a registered voter as well as an SO on the registry. What do they do with my ballot ? Do they pull my vote ? Why go through the motions ? Why do they even allow me register as a voter if I’m not allowed to cast ?
If you’ve not lost your voting rights or had them previously restored, GO OUT AND VOTE!!!
I have asked FAC several times on this forum if I should vote. I have never gotten a response. Although convicted of a felony over 10 years ago, I continue to get a Voter Information Card and sample ballots in the mail every year. My fear is that I will be committing a third-degree felony since F.S. 104.15 (Unqualified electors willfully voting) states:
“Whoever, knowing he or she is not a qualified elector, willfully votes at any election is guilty of a felony of the third degree…..”
F.S. 97.041 [Qualifications to register or vote] 5. (2) states:
“The following persons, who might be otherwise qualified, are not entitled to register or vote:
(b) A person who has been convicted of any felony by any court of record and who has not had his or her right to vote restored pursuant to law.”
Additionally, F.S. 97.021 [QUALIFICATION AND REGISTRATION OF ELECTORS] (15) states:
“Elector” is synonymous with the word “voter” or “qualified elector or voter,” …….
Do you still think Allen and I should go to the polls and vote?
We are neither licensed, nor qualified to provide legal advise.
Due diligence pays off. I thought I’d share in case others were in my situation. In my case, I had the adjudication withheld. Meaning I never had my rights removed. Despite having to register as an SO, I am still able to vote and will be doing so. I also encourage anyone in the same situation to do so without fear of penalty.
Is that in the state of Florida?
Yes, I’m in Florida. I would check with the county clerk where the charge occured. They should be able to answer if your eligible. That’s how I found out. My specific county clerk has a direct line for felony questions. I could tell I was speaking with an experienced deputy who answered many similar questions.
I would not read too much into the fact that you are still receiving voter information cards and sample ballots. If you have an F on your record, then you are not supposed to vote in Florida. Regardless of whether anybody’s taken the trouble to update and purge the voter rolls to reflect that fact.
If you’ve had your voting rights restored during the Charlie Crist turn at governor, you can vote.
Many felons had their voting rights restored back then.
Thank you Jacob. It’s not worth the risk.
By the way, when I checked to see if my rights have been restored, even though I never had the chance for restoration under Crist, the system comes back with a screen empty of any information. So unless I see a resounding “Yes,” I’ll not risk getting a fresh five.
why don’t you just call the supervisor of elections in your county?
I went to their “Voter Status” webpage
https://www.duvalelections.com/Voter-Information/Register-to-Vote-Update-Address-Name-Party/Voter-Status
and entered my last name, birthday, and house number. Here’s what came back:
“You are currently eligible to vote in Duval County.”
I still think it’s a trap!
I don’t think it’s a trap.
Voter registration staff probably don’t have time to conduct background checks on everyone. The law puts it on you not to cast a vote in Florida if you have an F on your record.
Having the right to vote is fine, but does you little good if no one will hire you or rent to you. Don’t see how that will help you as long as you are on the registry. Those issues need to be resolved first. I’d rather have stable living conditions and a means of livelihood than the right to elect more crooked politicians.
The power of the vote is what gets the right politicians in office, ones who will listen to reason. It’s what gets the right ballot initiatives passed.
Not only that, the right to vote is symbolic in acknowledging a class of people as an equal part of society. Slaves couldn’t vote. Women were unable to vote until they fought for it. Giving everyone the right to vote except for a select few sends the loud and clear message that those people don’t matter in our civilization, which is founded on the vote.
Getting our voting rights is important, for so many reasons. This is not to say having a job or place to live is not important. All three are important.
JZ, I 1000% agree.
Thank you, Maria!
I will be surprised if Amendment 4 passes. Floriduh is a state of unending punishment and has a strong criminal “justice” lobby that fuels the industrial prison complex. Anyone who has ever committed a felony will always be seen as a felon, and nothing more.
We see on TV, hear on the radio, and read on the internet that unemployment is at an historical low. Yet, I have applied for over 60 jobs in the past two months, but gotten only one interview, and wasn’t hired.
Again, I would implore FAC to send out or post a survey online to find out how many of us actually have jobs and if so, how many of those are working in their previous or desired professions. Thus unemployment and under-employment statistics could be determined to use as fact when challenging the “non-punitive” registry.
The amendment will pass. All worded as such.