No doubt DeSantis and the legislature will see fit to thwart this initiative and keep felons from voting.
Jeeze it’s not like there is 49 other state bodies that could help them figure this out? So why not a conference call to other SoS (except Kobach, he’s an asshole).
“We need to get some direction from them as far as implementation and definitions — all the kind of things that the supervisors were asking,” Detzner said, according to the Times. “It would be inappropriate for us to charge off without direction from them.”
“His successor, Republican Ron DeSantis, has expressed opposition to Amendment 4.”
Since they work hard to keep non-felons who might lean Democratic from voting (and it allowed them to steal a Presidency) this is absolutely guaranteed.
The foot-dragging will be epic, as will fraud traps set to trip-up civic minded ex-felons who are not yet voter eligible. They will make it intentionally confusing so that it is easy to make unintended errors.
Sort of like filling out the Publishers Central Clearinghouse lottery application. I haven’t looked at one in decades, but when I did I found that the instructions for preparing it could not be followed. They were complex, imprecise and contradictory at one point, so you had to guess which was the “correct” way (if either were).
The Florida legal code makes nearly any violation of voting law a felony of the third degree I see, so an ex-felon who improperly executes any aspect of the registration or voting process can expect to be stripped of their voting rights all over again (and possibly sent to the slammer).
And then there will be all the FUD pushed on ex-felons, to make them afraid to try to register for fear that they will be caught in some technicality (laid to do just that) so that they will register and vote at low rates.
They need direction because “convicted felons who completed their sentences . . . as long as they were not convicted of murder or felony sex offenses.” is really vague and confusing. Does it include non-whites? Voters who want to register as Democrats?
I think we can all see where this is going. It really is getting completely out of control.
Still waiting for Democratic politicians to stop ad hoc complaining and adopt a very clear posture that the GOP is the number one threat to our democracy.
Indeed. Someone could do this and differentiate him/herself very early from the rest of the pack. No time like the present, candidates.
I’m sure the GOP state officials will promptly straighten things out, so everything is settled and smooth in plenty of time for ex-felons to register with confidence before the deadlines to get on the rolls for the 2020 elections.
Indeed. I predicted this one just after the vote. Like Michigan and Wisconsin (NC is old news) the GOP is screwing the voters explicit direction for their self-serving gain.
BTW, when is Trump or the GOP going to pay for the $17M he owes the taxpayers for all those AF1 trips he took for political purposes?
It is remarkable how organized these folks can be when they want to suppress voters in specific categories and locations. Doing free and fair elections, on the other hand . . .
FLORIDIANS, you must be FOREWARNED…GOPers all over the United States are going batshit cray! They think they are kings and queens and only they hold the keys to the kingdom. Since you voted for the law to pass, you have better get ready to fight for it! Its true they need to setup a process, so give them ample time…but don’t let them play around with this too long…You want to be prepared to vote in the next election.
Can’t expect Republicans to share power with voters. If they start doing that, no telling where it will end.