No Voting for Sex Offenders or Murderers Says Florida
Florida’s state Supreme Court on Thursday approved language for a proposed amendment to the state Constitution that would restore voting rights to felons after they complete their sentences.
If the measure makes it on the ballot and receives a 60% favorable vote, the voting rights of Felons in Florida could be restored upon completion of their sentence.
Unfortunately, the rights would not be returned to murders or the very broad category of “sex offenders”. It’s not right!
I’m an RSO and I have been voting for years. I also have adjudication withheld, so that may fall into play.
Yes, if you are adjudication withheld you can vote
As usual, Florida can’t do justice
Absolutely ridiculous! If these people served their sentence in prison, did their time, paid their debt, then why should they lose their voting rights? I’m sure they are expected to pay taxes if & when they get a job. They have already lost so much.
What happened to equal application of the law? Have we now gotten to the point that some debts to society can never be paid?
This makes me sick to my stomach. Discrimination at its best. The Florida Supreme court approving this unconstitutional ridiculousness should be shameful of themselves and anyone who supports it.
Florida will say that they are not discriminating against registrants and murderers because they have another set of prcedures to have their rights restored. Although as stated the football will be moved when we attempt to kick it or the requirements will be so high the pope wouldn’t qualify
I hope to see the ACLU Get involved in this as i think it is illegal to single out select groups that are not narrowed without just cause.
I Think Florida lawmakers and judges are starting to make themselves look like the scum of the earth! there Judgement day will come one day and hopefully soon!
this move is explicitly taxation without representation!
Hey!” i can’t wait to die ” is extremely depressing to see all your moniker over the place if you’re suicidal just go ahead most of us sex offenders are trying our best to get on with our lives and keep up the struggle
The cemeteries have lots of room
He has a right to express himself any way he feels. Please don’t keep him from his opinion. Everyone has a voice on here.
Thanks Mike!
I not sure why Please See a Shrink comment was even allowed to go through as it has nothing to do with the topic but solely a hateful attack on me.
FYI I Never said a word about suicide.
Please See a Shrink
keep on ASSuming!
I guess okay to be violent felon as long as you didn’t kill anyone. Their still allowed to vote. I guess it doesn’t matter to me much anymore, I really don’t like anyone that was elected anyway. Are they afraid that a million sex offenders were allowed to vote that may cause a tidal way of voting against their bills. May if grouped large enough to compete with the NRA we could lean on politicians like they do to get change. We could call it the NSOA.
No voting means no representation. There should not be taxation without representation. Disenfranchising individuals is beginning of a slippery slope.
This means the damn politicians will have a field day with us.
Taxation without representation
Of course this is not right and it is blatantly unconstitutional. I am not a lawyer or even close to it but if I am not mistaken no state can make a law that takes away a Constitutional right. In fact, just taking away civil rights from felons (after sentence served was unconstitutional). The Constitution of the US says if you are a citizen of the USA you have the right to vote. As far as I know it does not say except when…
Now, when a person is under civil control that is another story but once off they have paid their debt….this is wrong….
You guys have it really bad in Florida with such hateful human beings in politics. I guess we have it good here in Massachusetts with more progressive laws. California at least is moving to a tiered system. Florida is way behind the times, and it should be ripe for lawsuits.
I’m not concerned about the money from a law suit but I would like to see the bureaucrats in Tallahassee and the various Florida counties have to admit that they were wrong. I’m sure there are plenty of lawyers out there who would be more that happy to reap the monetary rewards.
I believe part of the reason that this made it to the legislature is because of a petition that was circulated. It requested the voting rights be restored after incarceration except for murders and sex offenders. I actually signed that petition although against my better judgement. I asked someone who was circulating the petition why the exclusions and that person told me that it was probably the only way they could get the general public to support it. I went ahead and signed it thinking that I would testify against the two exclusions when it came up in the legislature . But, alas, I did not follow up and take the opportunity. This shows how important it is to stand up for registered citizens and to do it on a timely basis.
I served my country for 29 years and in a time of great emotion and disappointment after my wife’s death failed my daughter. We have since made amends and are in the process of putting our family back together. I am probably as well qualified to vote in an informed manner as anyone. Because of bureaucratic innuendo, media hype, paranoia, and false premises, this tax paying, country loving veteran cannot vote but instead is being characterized as no better than a murderer. I hope that our Florida legislators are proud of themselves.
According to those I know who are involved with this addition to Florida constitution #1 politicians wouldn’t support it if sex offenders were included. However the group responsible for the petition promised to come back for us at a later date. I assume when either the public is more educated or the right person’s son ends up here with us. Until then Florida politicians will do what they always do to avoid a lawsuit they will set up some faux committee for sex offenders to appear before with the mirage of having their civil rights restored only to have the football moved as they are about to kick it. That’s the Florida way
Maybe if the principles that our founders followed…no taxation without representation…were implemented and RSO’s did not have to pay taxes, then we might get the attention of the bureaucrats as their primary motivation is ‘money’. Restoration of voting rights to RSO’s would restore an additional cash flow and that would get the bureaucrats to ‘salivating’.
That’s when we as a group petition to have our status declared as a minority.
Looks like the Felon restoration of rights lawsuit is moving along as can be viewed here.
https://www.pacermonitor.com/public/case/20848904/Hand_et_al_v_Scott_et_al
RSO here. Been voting for years. Still can’t get over that I’m not a convicted felon because of withheld adjudication, but am considered convicted “for the purposes of registration. Florida law contradicts itself.
Yes, my son is also able to vote because of AW. I always say he is a politicians worst nightmare! lol
Under our last governor, just about everyone got automatic restoration of rights. Under our current governor, as soon as he was sworn in he changed it to where no felons get their rights back except through some type of process of the Florida parole commission, which is headed by the secretary of agriculture, Pam Bondi, and the governor himself. Since the system has been in play, they only meet about four times a year and only review the applications of a handful of applicants at a time, meaning that almost no felon gets his right to vote restored. You have a better chance of being struck by lightning. But even under the old system of the last governor Which was pretty much automatic upon release, there was an exception for automatic restoration of rights for violent criminals and RSO’s that required us to wait several years then file a paper petition with the Florida parole commission in order to receive restoration of rights. At one point, the list for petitions was about 200,000 names long, and at the current rate the governor and his henchmen are processing them you don’t have a snowballs chance in hell. At least with the rest of the felons getting automatic restoration of rights via the legislature and not specific approval of the governor, perhaps that will give the governor a much shorter list of people to manually approve restoration of rights. Who knows.
I was convicted in Michigan. My right to vote , as far as I remember has not been removed. When I paroled out to Florida, I was advised of the rules and regulations of that state as well. I have voted every time there was a need for a registered voter to vote….so am I violating any laws?
There is no law against an RSO voting.
They just won’t automatically restore ones civil rights here in FL, making you eligible to vote.
Yes, I know about these laws and the change Everytime a sex offender rapes or murders a child. They should not have been able to get that far. But I have been in system for 22 years and things like this hurts nonviolent offenders more. I pray God will help us, because our voice in Florida legislature means nothing.
Didn’t a judge say that it is unconstitutional for FL to pick and choose who gets the rights restored? Didn’t the judge say All or None?
Karen, that’s what I read…all or none.
Yes that’s regarding the ruling on the lawsuit. The wording on the Amendment they are trying to pass is separate and needs a vote. I believe the ruling should override any exclusion.