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Ex-felons face new twist in voting<br><br>
Gov. Jeb Bush has decided to eliminate paper applications for
felons<br>
seeking to recover their civil rights, and attorneys assert that the
move<br>
will thwart thousands of potential voters.<br><br>
BY DEBBIE CENZIPER AND JASON GROTTO - Miami Herald (July 23,
2004)<br><br>
dcenziper@herald.com<br><br>
<a href="http://www.miami.com/mld/miamiherald/9220185.htm?ERIGHTS=-2045445275665236750miami::iapinfo@iap.org&KRD_RM=2kkokmpooiimkiiiiiiiikikkq|Islamic|Y" eudora="autourl">http://www.miami.com/mld/miamiherald/9220185.htm?ERIGHTS=-2045445275665236750miami::iapinfo@iap.org&KRD_RM=2kkokmpooiimkiiiiiiiikikkq|Islamic|Y<br><br>
</a>Days after a Florida appeals court demanded that the state provide
more<br>
help to felons who want their right to vote restored, Gov. Jeb Bush<br>
introduced a new policy that civil rights advocates say circumvents
the<br>
will of the court and threatens to exclude tens of thousands of
potential<br>
voters.<br><br>
Last week, the First District Court of Appeal in Tallahassee
unanimously<br>
ruled that state prison officials must follow the law and provide
newly<br>
released felons the necessary paperwork and assistance to get their
full<br>
civil rights back.<br><br>
That would include a one-page application for a formal hearing before
the<br>
Florida Clemency Board -- the only way an estimated 85 percent of
felons<br>
will ever get their rights restored.<br><br>
But instead of providing the application, Bush decided to scrap it<br>
altogether. On Wednesday, he announced that felons will now have to<br>
contact the Office of Executive Clemency when and if they want to
apply<br>
for a hearing to have their rights restored.<br><br>
Bush argues that the policy reduces paperwork and, therefore, provides
the<br>
ease and assistance demanded by the court.<br><br>
Civil rights advocates say the decision will disfranchise thousands
of<br>
people in a state where more than 400,000 are already banned from
voting.<br><br>
Groups including the American Civil Liberties Union of Florida and
the<br>
Florida Justice Institute sued the state in 2001, saying the Department
of<br>
Corrections for years violated the law by not helping felons to make
civil<br>
rights applications. The Department has made changes since then but
still<br>
refuses to provide to outgoing inmates the one-page application needed
for<br>
a hearing.<br><br>
Civil rights groups took the state to court to change the policy.
Last<br>
week, they declared victory. On Wednesday, they cried foul.<br><br>
`CLEVER TACTIC'<br><br>
''You have to hand it to the governor. It's a very clever legal tactic
and<br>
even more clever propaganda,'' said Howard Simon, executive director
of<br>
the ACLU in Florida. ``It's done under the guise of trying to simplify
the<br>
process and eliminate paperwork, but it just shows his true
character.<br>
It's completely disingenuous.''<br><br>
BUSH'S RATIONALE<br><br>
Bush and his staff, however, say eliminating the application and<br>
requesting that felons call to request hearings simplifies the
state's<br>
clemency system and ensures that the agencies overseeing the process
won't<br>
be bogged down by paperwork.<br><br>
''The bottom line is, this will streamline the process,'' said the<br>
governor's spokesman, Jacob DiPietre. ``Once felons are notified that
they<br>
don't qualify for restoration without a hearing, all they have to do
is<br>
pick up the phone and call, send a letter or e-mail a request for a<br>
hearing.''<br><br>
Florida is one of just six states that permanently strip felons of
the<br>
right to vote. The Florida Clemency Board -- composed of the governor
and<br>
the Cabinet -- can reinstate a felon's right to vote.<br><br>
There are two ways for ex-felons to get their rights restored.
Depending<br>
on their past crimes and other factors, they may qualify for
restoration<br>
through a paperless process without a hearing. Those rejected from
that<br>
process must go through a more complicated investigation and
hearing<br>
before the governor and his Cabinet.<br><br>
STATE'S ARGUMENT<br><br>
The state had argued that the Department of Corrections fulfilled
its<br>
legal obligation by electronically submitting the names of newly
released<br>
felons for consideration in the paperless process.<br><br>
But civil rights advocates countered that the Department didn't go
far<br>
enough, because an overwhelming majority of felons are rejected from
that<br>
process. To get their rights back, they must apply for
hearings.<br><br>
Bush, however, has repeatedly refused to provide the one-page
application<br>
to felons before they leave custody.<br><br>
Randall Berg, executive director of the Florida Justice Institute,
argued<br>
that if an application for a hearing was already on file, more
people<br>
would be ready and waiting for consideration.<br><br>
''I think the governor thumbed his nose at the court order and
showed<br>
disrespect for the rule of law,'' he said.<br><br>
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