Page 9 - Florida Sentinel 11-2-18

Local
Amendment #4 Will Give Felons A Voice
BY IRIS B. HOLTON Sentinel City Editor
The State of Florida is one of only 4 states that do not automatically restore rights of a convicted felon. And, while felons can’t vote unless they have had their Civil Rights restored, they are re- quired to pay taxes and as- sume all other responsibilities of citizenship in this state.
On November 6th, General Election Day 2018, registered voters will have an opportu- nity to give a voice to more than a million disenfran- chised individuals labeled “convicted felons.” If passed, the Amendment will return the right to vote to the indi- vidual once he or she has completed all requirements handed down by the Courts.
The exceptions would be those convicted of murder or
felons the right to vote and help select their leaders for local, state and federal of- fices...”
Attorney Garcia said statistics show that only 1 person out of 992 who had their rights restored commit- ted a crime in 2016 and 2017.
He further said the restoration of rights will have a positive $365 million eco- nomic impact, reduce the
need to build additional pris- ons, and increased job earn- ings, taxes paid and economic investments.
Under Florida’s Constitu- tion, getting voting and other civil rights restored currently requires a grant of mercy, and the process is too long. Indi- viduals must wait 5 to 7 years before they can even apply for restoration.
Some felons can be ap-
proved without a hearing, but most must wait several years to get a hearing and a deci- sion because there are ap- proximately 23,000 pending applications.
ATTORNEY REGGIE GARCIA
a felony sex crime. Those in- dividuals will be required to go through the regular execu- tive clemency process.
Attorney Reggie Gar- cia explains the amendment in the following manner: “Called the ‘Voting Restora- tion Amendment,’ the pro- posed Constitutional Amendment will grant most of the 1.7 million convicted
FRIDAY, NOVEMBER 2, 2018 FLORIDA SENTINEL BULLETIN PUBLISHED EVERY TUESDAY AND FRIDAY PAGE 9-A