On Nov. 6, 2018, Florida voters will decide the fate of eight possible amendments to the state constitution. One of these is Amendment 4, entitled “Voting Restoration Amendment.” According to the Miami Herald, Amendment 4 would restore voting rights to felons who had served their time (except for more serious crimes like murder or sexual offenses). Previously, according to The Palm Beach Post, felons convicted of nonviolent crimes would have to wait at least five years before petitioning to have their voting rights restored, with their case being argued before the board of Office of Executive Clemency, headed by Gov. Rick Scott.
Amendment 4 will be a big change to felon voting rights, but it is a necessary change. For one thing, the system it would be replacing is deeply flawed and has received much criticism. For example, according to The Palm Beach Post, the system imposes a heavy burden on petitioners, such as requiring them to travel to Tallahassee to face the board. The system is also cumbersome to navigate and severely backlogged, with 10,000 applications still awaiting review by the Commission on Offender Review as of January 2018. The system was also harshly criticized in a March court order by U.S. District
Judge Mark Walker, who called the system “fatally flawed” and open to abuse due to the fact that Scott and other members of the board are elected officials who have to run for reelection. Walker ordered the state to come up with a new voting rights restoration system by April 26, but this ruling was later stayed by a U.S. Appeals Court, allowing the current system to remain in place. However, the issues Walker raised came up during Scott’s 2018 senatorial run: An ABC News article from August accused Scott of being able to “(pick) his own voters” due to him having the final say in who can have their voting rights restored — the current system gives the governor of Florida “unfettered discretion” to deny clemency in voting rights.
However, the failure of the old system isn’t the only reason why Amendment 4 should pass. Low-level felons who have served their time should not have their punishment extended by being denied the right to vote. As it is, felons face huge obstacles once they are released back into society. According to WBHM radio station of Birmingham, Alabama, prisoners often struggle to find a job after their release, and sometimes those who cannot find a job end up returning to crime to make ends meet.
One reason for this is that many employment applications ask potential employees to check a box if they’ve ever been convicted of a felony, leading to a nationwide “ban the box” campaign to remove such question from employment applications. In addition to being unable to find a job, seven states (including Florida) ban former drug felons from collecting food stamps and, even more, restrict former prisoners’ access to TANF (Temporary Assistance for Needy Families). Finding a home and obtaining official ID are also big challenges for former felons.
And yet despite all the issues they face, former felons do not have the political power to change any of this. We deny countless opportunities to prisoners who have already served their time, and we expect them overcome all these obstacles while giving them no voice to remove these obstacles. Not only is this blatantly unfair, but it goes against America’s reputation as a "land of opportunity." These issues are nationwide, but incremental progress can be made on a state-by-state basis.
Now, it’s Florida turn. To restore a just society that gives everyone, even former prisoners, a chance to succeed, voters must approve Amendment 4 in November.
Jason Zappulla is a UF journalism sophomore. His column appears on Mondays.
