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69,000 eligible ex-felons can't vote in 2004

Breathless headlines around the state the last few days have been trumpeting Jeb!’s spin on the restoration of rights for Florida ex-felons.

The numbers really aren’t as good as Jeb! and many of the state’s newspapers would have you believe (surprise!), and the bottom line is that tens of thousands of ex-felons who should have had their rights restored by now wont be eligible to vote in this year’s elections.

Florida’s executive clemency laws were enacted in 1868 to keep ex-slaves from the polls. The laws are now keeping many descendants of slaves from the polls, as a black person in Florida is five times more likely (pdf link) than a white person to be in a Florida prison.

And once a felon is released, the steps to achieve executive clemency are daunting.

"The Florida process is very complex," said Marc Mauer, assistant director of the Sentencing Project, a Washington, D.C., group that studies prison and inmate issues.

Here's how it works: Felons who are released from prison or finish probation or parole can apply to have their civil rights restored. Some felons can have their rights restored automatically.

But those convicted of serious offenses such as drug trafficking, sex crimes, battery or DUI manslaughter must request a hearing before the Clemency Board.

The governor and the Cabinet - the agriculture commissioner, the state's chief financial officer and the attorney general - review the cases. The governor wields the most power under the state constitution: He can make decisions unilaterally regarding pardons and restoration of civil rights.

Only 15 percent of Florida’s ex-felons ever get rights restored, a process that can be described as tedious, at best, even for those ex-felons who are eligible for “automatic restoration”.

Even if a former felon is entitled to restoration without a hearing, sometimes called automatic restoration, the process isn't necessarily quick.

After it's decided the individual is eligible, says a parole commission memo, ``The Office of Executive Clemency prepares a preliminary review list that is distributed to the Board of Executive Clemency for a 30-day review.''

During those 30 days, board members may object. If two do, the individual must go through the hearing process.

If there are fewer than two objections, the individual is ``listed on an executive order that is circulated to the Board of Executive Clemency,'' which consists of the governor and Cabinet. When the governor and at least two Cabinet members have signed the order, the Office of Executive Clemency issues a certificate of restoration of rights.

``This process ... can generally be accomplished within a year,'' the memo states.

Aug. 2 is the deadline to register for this year's Aug. 31 primary election, and Oct. 4 is the deadline to register for the Nov. 2 general election.

Berg said the number granted restoration of rights Thursday will cut the state's backlog.

But, he said, typically, only 15 percent of released prisoners in Florida ever get their rights restored. ``That's why Florida leads the nation in the number of disenfranchised people,'' he said.

These are folks who have served their debts to society, people who are being encouraged to reintegrate themselves into a working democracy, but they will never again be allowed to be full citizens.

To put a more positive spin on things, Jeb! has been emphasizing and mixing statistics, throwing numbers around in a confusing frenzy of hype. Jeb! is using 2 sets of numbers.

First, the “backlog”. In 2003, between 36,000 and 38,000 (depending on the source) ex-felons were awaiting word on their fate from the governor.

Of those, about 20,000 seem to have been eligible for and received “automatic restoration”. About 8,000 remain “backlogged” and will not get to vote this year.

The next set of numbers stem from a lawsuit filed against the state for failing to provide assistance and information to ex-felons upon their release.

Of 125,000 cases that festered from 1992-2001, 22,000 people were found to be eligible for “automatic restoration”, but only half of those folks have been processed. The rest will not be able to vote this year.

50,000 other people on that list are eligible for a hearing before the governor to beg for clemency, but that wont happen this year either.

So, out of 125,000 folks who should have been helped through the process, a mere 11,000 have had their rights restored to date. No wonder Jeb! is so happy.

As pointed out earlier, Jeb! mixed up these two sets of numbers in a blatant and very successful attempt to muddy the picture and produce positive headlines. In reality, by adding up the state’s numbers, it becomes clear that 69,000 ex-felons who should have had their rights restored or at least had their hearing to determine eligibility will not be able to vote this year.

69,000 represents just a little more than ten percent of the 600,000 ex-felons in Florida who remain disenfranchised due to a set of racist laws drafted specifically to keep black people from the polls.

ACLU officials said Thursday that they were glad that Florida has moved to restore the rights of thousands of ex-convicts, but they say there may be as many as 600,000 former prisoners who still do not have their rights restored.

The ACLU supports automatic restoration of rights for those who have done their prison time -- which would require a change in Florida's constitution.

''Restoring the rights of 21,000 is just a drop in the bucket,'' said Howard Simon, executive director of ACLU Florida.

Bush, however, defended the process, noting that he has pushed to streamline it and make it easier over the last two years.

''I think it's a fair process,'' he said.

Wait. Jeb! thinks the process is fair. Maybe I’m making too big a deal out of this whole mess. I mean, what’s 69,000 potential votes in a state the size of Florida?