Miami, – Civil groups rejected on Tuesday a bill that advances in the Florida Legislature and that they consider “unnecessary” and “unconstitutional” after the implementation of an amendment approved by voters in 2018 that restores the right to vote of 1, 4 million ex-offenders.
The Criminal Justice Subcommittee of the House of Representatives of Florida approved on Tuesday with a vote of 10 to 5 such initiative, which puts “obstacles” to the restoration of this right among the exreos.
The bill is “unnecessary, unconstitutional, and a rejection of the will of the people of Florida,” Nancy Abudu, deputy director of the Southern Poverty Law Center (SPLC), said Tuesday.
He noted that most Floridians agreed to the passage of Amendment 4 that restores voting to those who “have completed their sentences, work and pay taxes.”
For its part, the Florida Coalition for the Restoration of Rights called for protecting “the right to vote 1.4 million previously convicted persons to whom the Amendment 4 granted that right.”
The coalition, led by Desmond Meade, said that Amendment 4, which obtained the support of 64% of Florida voters last November, is in “danger.”
“The House of Representatives bill would eliminate that and tell more than 1 million Floridians their voices do not matter.” This proposal should be withdrawn and amendment 4 should be implemented as written, “the SPLC said in a statement. release.
Those who served prison sentences for murder or sexual crimes are the only ones who can not benefit from the constitutional reform.
Last year, federal judge Mark Walker asserted that Florida routinely violates the constitutional rights of its citizens by permanently repealing the “fundamental right” to vote for anyone convicted of a felony (EFEUSA).
