By Dara Kam ©2024 The News Service of Florida
TALLAHASSEE — State elections officials are moving forward with an updated process aimed at providing more clarity for people seeking to determine if they are eligible to vote, after a federal lawsuit over the handling of a constitutional amendment that restored voting rights to felons who completed their sentences.
A proposed rule, released Thursday by the state Division of Elections, includes a one-page form for felons requesting what are known as “advisory opinions” from state lawyers to clarify if they are eligible to vote.
The proposal would give state elections officials two weeks to determine “whether a form is complete,” require notification of “the felon within 14 days … of the specific deficiency or the need for any specific, additional information” and mandate that the state respond within 90 days of receiving a request for an advisory opinion.
Desmond Meade, executive director of the Florida Rights Restoration Coalition who helped advocate for the 2018 constitutional amendment, called the proposal a “step forward” by the state.
“It is crucial that individuals seeking to vote, especially during election season, receive clear guidance on their eligibility. We look forward to continuing to engage with the state to break down barriers to full participation in our elections,” Meade said in a statement.
Confusion over voter eligibility stems from a controversial 2019 law that Gov. Ron DeSantis and the Republican-controlled Legislature approved to carry out the constitutional amendment, which said voting rights would be restored “upon completion of all terms of their sentence including parole or probation.” The amendment excluded people convicted of murder or felony sexual offenses.
The 2019 law required felons to pay “legal financial obligations” — fees, fines and other court costs — associated with their convictions before they could be eligible to vote. But tracking down records related to sentencing has been problematic, time-consuming and, in some instances, impossible, according to elections supervisors and lawyers familiar with the process.
In addition, lawmakers at DeSantis’ behest in 2022 created the Office of Elections Crimes and Security. Since then, more than two dozen people have been arrested for voting illegally. Many of the people who were arrested said they were convicted felons who believed they were eligible to vote and were provided voter registration cards by elections officials.
The Florida Rights Restoration Coalition and individual plaintiffs filed a lawsuit last year that described a “bureaucratic morass” encountered by felons trying to find out if they were eligible to vote. The lawsuit outlined months-long delays in responses to requests for advisory opinions, many of which did not offer a resolution about voter eligibility.
After mediation between the state and the plaintiffs, elections officials held a rule-development workshop in June. During the workshop, Leon County Supervisor of Elections Mark Earley pointed to “a backlog of people” who are uncertain about their voting statuses.
“We’re hearing that from our voters and prospective voters who are, frankly, as they’ve told me, they’re concerned about whether they should try to get registered because they just don’t know what their status is. It’s very difficult to determine that,” Earley said.
The proposed rule released Thursday would require advisory opinions to include one of three responses: “You are eligible to register and vote,” “You are ineligible to register or to vote,” or “The Division (of Elections) lacks credible and reliable information concerning your eligibility to register or to vote; therefore, based on your good faith belief that all terms of the sentence have been satisfied, the information available to the Division, and the Division’s review of available information, nothing precludes you from registering and voting.”
The revamped process likely will not be finalized before the Oct. 7 deadline to register to vote in the fall election.
Neil Volz, deputy director of the Florida Rights Restoration Coalition, commended the state for taking “a positive step in improving election integrity” and streamlining the advisory opinion procedure.
“For years, we have advocated for needed reforms on the front end of the election process. Considering there was no deadline in place before, this updated process will help ensure clarity and assurances for Floridians on their voting eligibility. People’s lives and our election system will be improved by these changes,” said Volz, a convicted felon whose rights were restored by DeSantis and the Florida Cabinet.
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