February 5, 2024

Your Action is Needed Now: 

End Uncertainty in the Electoral Process

The League of Women Voters of Florida has played a significant role in crafting legislation (Senate Bill 904 & House Bill 1525) that avoids delays in determining voter eligibility. These sort of delays can lead to voter suppression or disenfranchisement if eligible individuals are not allowed to vote due to unresolved issues.

The clock is ticking and Senate Bill 904 & House Bill 1525 have yet to have a hearing. Tell legislative leadership to give these crucial pieces of voting rights legislation a hearing ASAP!

If passed, what will this legislation accomplish?

1. Reduce recidivism considerably, as a Florida Clemency 2011 Report showed that persons whose civil rights were restored, recidivated about 50% less than those whose voting rights were not restored. This increases safety and helps to stop the revolving door of costly incarceration.
2. Create reasonable time limits for an Advisory Opinion response so that more Floridians can lawfully enjoy the franchise and make good on the State of Florida’s offering the Advisory Opinion process in the Amendment 4 (2018) litigation as an effective way for the State to assist persons with felonies.
3. Decrease the frustrating backlog of over 2000 unanswered requests for Advisory Opinions when the Division of Elections is answering about twenty Advisory Opinions/year.
4. Place the burden of researching a person’s criminal sentences upon the State that has the best ability to provide answers because it maintains criminal records and has attorneys to research the answers.
5. Help to make the dream of the Passage of Amendment 4 alive as more than 64% of Florida citizens voted in 2018 to have persons with felony convictions to be able to vote after they completed their sentences.
6. Help to avoid the humiliation and destruction of re-criminalization of persons who are arrested and prosecuted because they registered to vote and or voted when they mistakenly thought that they had completed their sentence because a state agent told them they could vote or a state action of receiving a voting card confused them. Will also reduce costs of investigations and prosecutions.
7. Increase Florida’s overall economic well-being as people that get their voting rights back generally do better economically and thus, they do not rely upon the state’s financial safety net and do not require the expenditure of state resources

We're urging every Florida League member to contact legislative leadership and encourage them to give these bills a hearing!

ACT NOW!

burgess.danny.web [at] flsenate.gov
(850) 487-5023

Tom.Fabricio [at] myfloridahouse.gov
(850) 717-5110

passidomo.kathleen.web [at] flsenate.gov
(850) 487-5028

Paul.Renner [at] myfloridahouse.gov
(850) 717-5019