COME NOVEMBER, FLORIDA VOTERS WILL GET TO DECIDE ON A BALLOT
REFERENDUM THAT WOULD RESTORE VOTING RIGHTS TO FELONS WHO HAVE
DONE THEIR TIME.
RIGHT NOW, MORE THAN 1.5 MILLION EX-FELONS IN THE STATE
CAN'T VOTE.
ONE IN FIVE OF THEM IS AFRICAN-AMERICAN.
UNDER THE CURRENT SYSTEM PUT IN PLACE BY GOVERNOR RICK SCOTT
BACK IN 2011, EX-FELONS-- ASIDE FROM MURDERERS AND SEX
OFFENDERS-- MUST WAIT FIVE TO SEVEN YEARS FOLLOWING THE END OF
THEIR SENTENCE, INCLUDING PROBATION TIME, TO REQUEST THEIR
VOTING RIGHTS BE RESTORED.
THEY MUST GO TO TALLAHASSEE AND APPEAR BEFORE A CLEMENCY BOARD,
LED BY THE GOVERNOR AND THREE ELECTED CABINET MEMBERS, TO
PLEAD THEIR CASE.
THE GOVERNOR HAS FULL VETO POWER OVER ANY DECISION.
THIS PROCESS HAS REPORTEDLY CREATED A BACKLOG OF SOME 10,000
REQUESTS.
BUT RECENTLY, U.S. DISTRICT JUDGE MARK WALKER HAS BLOCKED
THE STATE'S PROCESS, RULING IT TO BE UNCONSTITUTIONAL, GIVING
THE GOVERNOR UNTIL APRIL 26th TO COME UP WITH A BETTER PLAN.
ON HIS RULING, JUDGE WALKER SAYS IN PART--
"TO VOTE AGAIN, DISENFRANCHISED CITIZENS MUST KOWTOW BEFORE A
PANEL OF HIGH-LEVEL GOVERNMENT OFFICIALS OVER WHICH FLORIDA'S
GOVERNOR HAS ABSOLUTE VETO AUTHORITY.
NO STANDARDS GUIDE THE PANEL.
ITS MEMBERS ALONE MUST BE SATISFIED THAT THESE CITIZENS
DESERVE RESTORATION...
THE QUESTION NOW IS WHETHER SUCH A SYSTEM PASSES CONSTITUTIONAL
MUSTER.
IT DOES NOT."
HERE TO SHARE MORE IS CHARLES ZELDEN, PROFESSOR IN THE
DEPARTMENT OF HISTORY AND POLITICAL SCIENCE AT NOVA
SOUTHEASTERN UNIVERSITY.
PROFESSOR ALWAYS GREAT TO HAVE YOU WITH US.
GOOD TO BE HERE.
THIS IS A TWO PRONGED SITUATION.
WE'LL GET TO THE DETAILS LATER.
WE HAVE THIS FEDERAL JUDGE WHO SAYS GOVERNOR YOU HAVE TO FIX IT
AND THEN THE REFERENDUM IN THE FALL LETTING THE VOTERS DECIDE.
A LOT OF PEOPLE DON'T REALIZE THAT THIS LAW COMES FROM THE
CIVIL WAR DAYS, THIS IS A JIM CROW LAW.
FILL US IN ON THE HISTORY, ALL RIGHT?
THIS EXCLUDING FELONS FOR LIFE CAME ABOUT IN AN EFFORT TO
EXCLUDE AFRICAN AMERICANS FROM THE VOTE.
IT CAME DURING THE LATE 19th CENTURY, PART OF A SERIES OF
EFFORTS THAT COLLECTIVELY DID I ENFRANCHISED 99% OF AFRICAN
AMERICANS AND AS A RESULT IT HAS RACIST ROOTS.
THE INTENT AND THE PEOPLE WHO PASSED THIS WERE VERY OPEN ABOUT
IT.
WAS TO EXCLUDE AFRICAN AMERICANS FROM VOTING.
AND IT WAS THEN ADDED TO, AND WE JUST NEVER CHANGED IT.
AND THIS WAS BECAUSE THE STATE WAS PROTESTING THE 14th
AMENDMENT'S CLAUSE OF EQUAL PROTECTION, CORRECT?
EQUAL PROTECTION AND DUE PROCESS OF LAW.
ALL RIGHT.
SO THAT'S WHERE IT COMES FROM?
YES.
BY THE WAY, FLORIDA AND IOWA AND KENTUCKY ARE THE ONLY STATES
IN THE NATION THAT HAVE THESE LIFETIME BANS ON FELONS.
YES.
ALL STATES HAVE BAN -- I SHOULDN'T SAY -- MOST STATES
HAVE BANS WHILE YOU'RE IN JAIL, WHILE YOU'RE ON PROBATION.
OTHER STATES SAY YOU HAVE TO WAIT TWO YEARS, FIVE YEARS,
MAYBE EVEN TEN YEARS, THEN YOU AUTOMATICALLY GET YOUR CIVIL
RIGHTS BACK.
BUT IN THESE STATES YOU DO NOT UNLESS YOU EXPLICITLY PETITION
TO GET IT BACK.
THAT'S WHERE THE CLEMENCY BOARD COMES IN.
TAKE US WHAT HE SAYS IS UNCONSTITUTIONAL.
IN ORDER TO PASS CONSTITUTIONAL MUSTER, IN TERMS
OF DUE PROCESS OF LAW, IN TERMS OF EQUAL PROTECTION, THE PROCESS
BY WHICH FELONS PETITION TO REGAIN THEIR VOTING RIGHTS NEEDS
TO BE CONSISTENT.
IT NEEDS TO BE NOT ARBITRARY.
IT NEEDS TO BE SOMETHING THAT THE END RESULT IS THE SAME, FOR
ALL WHO COME IN, IN SIMILAR SITUATIONS.
AND THAT'S NOT WHAT HAPPENS HERE.
THE DECISION-MAKING PROCESS IS COMPLETELY IN THE HANDS OF THE
BOARD.
THEY CAN ACCEPT OR DENY ANYONE FOR ANY REASON OR NO REASON.
AND AS A RESULT, IT FAILS THE TEST OF EQUAL PROTECTION OF THE
LAW.
ONE PERSON GETS THEIR VOTING RIGHTS BACK.
ANOTHER PERSON DOESN'T.
THEY COMMIT THE SAME CRIME, AT ROUGHLY THE SAME TIME, AND THEY
BOTH MELT ALL THE REQUIREMENTS NECESSARY TO PETITION.
WHY?
THAT'S WHERE THE JUDGE COMES AND SAYS THAT'S NOT CONSTITUTIONAL.
YOU SAY IT NEEDS TO BE MEANINGFUL BENCHMARK.
IT HAS TO BE CLEAR AND IT HAS TO BE CONSISTENT.
OKAY.
LET'S TALK ABOUT THIS REFERENDUM NOW WHICH IS ON THE BALLOT.
YOU'VE MET THE GENTLEMAN WHO SPEARHEADED THIS.
DESMOND MEAD.
TO GET THIS REFERENDUM HE HAD TO GET AT LEAST 755,000 VOTERS, HE
GOT 766 VOTERS.
WHAT IS HIS STORY?
THE STORY IS, HE COMMITTED A FELONY AS A YOUNG MAN.
HE CLEANED UP HIS LIFE, HE WENT TO LAW SCHOOL AND BECAME AN
ATTORNEY AND HE COULDN'T VOTE AND HE THOUGHT IT WAS WRONG.
HE BEGAN A CAMPAIGN TO RESTORE VOTING RIGHTS FOR FELONS IN
FLORIDA.
HE ORGANIZED THIS EFFORT, AND NORMALLY PEOPLE ARE PAID TO GET
SIGNATURES.
THIS WAS DONE ALL WITH VOLUNTEERS.
THEY GOT MORE SIGNATURES THAN THEY NEEDED TO GET IT ON THE
BALLOT.
SO NOW THE CHOICE IS GOING TO BE THAT, LEFT UP TO THE PEOPLE OF
FLORIDA, WHETHER WE WANT TO AUTOMATICALLY RESTORE VOTING
RIGHTS TO NONVIOLENT FELONS AN THOSE WHO HAVE NOT COMMITTED A
SWAM -- A MURDER OR SOME SORT OF
SEXUAL CRIME.
RIGHT.
AS LONG AS, LEAVING THOSE PEOPLE ASIDE, AS LONG AS YOU
HAVE DONE YOUR TIME THERE IS NO PROBATION LEFT, THERE IS NO
PAROLE LEFT YOU HAVE DONE RESTITUTION, YOU'VE DONE YOUR
TIME IN JAIL, AS LONG AS YOU ARE CLEAR AND CLEAN WITH THE STATE
YOU AUTOMATICALLY GET BACK YOUR VOTING RIGHT.
THAT'S IT.
NO CLEMENCY BOARD.
YOU'RE DONE.
YOU'RE DONE, IT'S AUTOMATIC.
THE KEY YOU HAVE TO PAY THE PRICE, PAY YOUR TIME.
ONCE THAT'S DONE, ONCE YOU'RE FULL MEMBER OF SOCIETY AGAIN,
YOU WOULD GET YOUR VOTING RIGHTS BACK.
THE KEY TO THIS INITIATIVE IS, IT DOESN'T HAVE TO BE JUST A
MAJORITY VOTE.
IT NEEDS TO BE A 60% SUPERMAJORITY VOTE.
IN A QUINNIPIAC POLL, 60% ARE FOR THIS REFERENDUM RIGHT?
IT'S ALL ABOUT ELECTIONS, WHO SHOWS UP.
IF THERE'S A LOT OF ENTHUSIASM TO VOTE, IF WE HAVE NOT MID TERM
NUMBERS BUT PRESIDENTIAL YEAR NUMBERS THERE IS A REALLY GOOD
CHANCE THAT THIS WILL PASS.
QUICKLY BECAUSE WE'RE RUNNING OUT OF:00, THIS COULD CERTAINLY
CHANGE THE -- OUT OF TIME, THIS COULD CERTAINLY CHANGE THE
LANDSCAPE, CORRECT?
THERE IS A MILLION AND A HALF PEOPLE WHO CAN'T VOTE, BEING
ABLE TO VOTE.
SECONDLY, 25% OF THE AFRICAN AMERICAN COMMUNITY IN FLORIDA IS
EXCLUDED FROM VOTING BECAUSE OF FELONY.
THAT'S 25% OF THE AFRICAN AMERICAN COMMUNITY.
THAT'S GOING TO HAVE MAJOR IMPACTS IN TERMS OF THE OUTCOME
OF ELECTIONS.
SAME THING IN THE HISPANIC COMMUNITY AND IN GENERAL.
WHEN YOU ADD IN THAT MANY NEW VOTERS, IT CHANGES THE FABRIC OF -- THE FABRIC.
AND THE WAY YOU FIGURE OUT WHO'S GOING TO VOTE AND WHAT YOU NEED
TO WIN.
CHARLES, THANK YOU SO MUCH FOR YOUR PERSPECTIVE.
WE APPRECIATE IT.
DO YOU THINK FELONS' VOTING RIGHTS SHOULD BE RESTORED?
SEND US YOUR THOUGHTS ON THIS OR ANY OTHER TOPIC THAT MATTERS
MOST TO YOU.
YOU CAN SEND US A MESSAGE OR VIDEO VIA EMAIL OR OUR FACEBOOK
PAGE, @YOURSOUTHFL.
WE LOOK FORWARD TO HEARING FROM YOU.