Florida: Executive Order Aimed to Speed Up Process

Gov. Charlie Crist implemented an executive order last week in an effort to speed up the process for persons with non-violent felony offenses to regain voting rights, the Orlando Sentinel reported. The order will:

- Require a voter-registration application be included in every Restoration of Civil Rights Certificate mailed from the Parole Commission;
- Make accessible a redesigned Florida Parole Commission Web site allowing individuals to locate and print their restoration certificate; and
- Provide on the Web site a direct link to the Division of Elections' voter-registration Web site.

"I believe that government should explore every opportunity to ease the notification process and provide as much information about restoration of civil rights," Crist said in a statement. "The changes made today will allow ex-offenders to immediately register to vote and participate in the democratic process."

In an editorial, the Orlando Sentinel stated that the executive order was "impressive," but added that Gov. Crist "could do better." The editorial board noted that problems will still remain, including the fact that elections supervisors will need greater access to state databases to reach new voters and that there's still uncertainty regarding how individuals will be notified by mail of their ability to vote.

Highlighting last week's Orlando Sentinel's investigative report on people whose rights have yet to be restored, a New York Times editorial stated that Florida's restoration figure of 115,000 "turn[ed] out to have been an illusion." Reform "would be good for the ex-offenders, good for Florida and good for the larger cause of democracy," the Times stated.

New York: Personal Fulfillment Includes the Right to Vote

Germaine Knapp, CEO of the Sojourner House, a women's transitional support organization in New York, said many women her organization comes in contact with don't realize they have the right to vote if they have served their time, including parole. "The women who come to Sojourner House have made a courageous decision to overcome the challenges of drug addiction, mental illness and abuse," she wrote in a Democrat and Chronicle commentary. "They have chosen to free themselves from low expectations and taken the high road to self-sufficiency, responsibility and personal fulfillment. Yet, although those women have demonstrated unusual courage, they continue to doubt their right to participate fully in elections."

Michigan: Attempting to Correct False Information

A campaign to register 1500 new Michigan voters is underway in an effort to ''combat false information that was being disseminated from inside the Corrections Department itself,'' the Michigan Citizen reported. Unlock the Vote is working in Wayne, Genessee and Kalamazoo counties to empower citizens with felony convictions.

Wisconsin: State Representative Thinks Law Should Change - for the Better

Wisconsin law states that individuals must complete their prison sentence in addition to probation or parole to become eligible to vote. State Rep. Joe Parisi wants that to change, Channel 3000 reported. "Once you've served your time and you're released from prison, we expect you to participate in society again and we encourage you to take part in the democratic process and vote. It would save money, it would help integrate people back into society and it would make the administration of elections much smoother," said Parisi, who will continue lobbying for a bill reflecting his views.

National: Voter Awareness Program Unveiled; Research Offers Judges' Views on Collateral Consequences

A nonpartisan voter awareness program was unveiled by the NAACP Legal Defense Fund in an effort to educate voters and address voting barriers, including disenfranchisement, in the upcoming November election, according to Diverse Issues in Education. "Prepared to Vote" will include sponsoring community-based workshops, holding meetings with election officials and posting information on an educational Web site, www.preparedtovote.org.

"Prepared to Vote is a program designed to raise every voter's awareness of the many obstacles in the electoral process that could affect their right to vote in the 2008 election. Through Prepared to Vote, we hope to ensure that every eligible voter casts a vote that counts," said John Payton, LDF president and director-counsel.

A new survey of judicial practice and understanding of the collateral consequences of criminal convictions finds that while judges report that courtroom practitioners frequently discuss these policies in court, there is also "further evidence of serious ambiguities and variation in these laws' purpose, character, and imposition." The study of trial court judges nationally, by Alec Ewald and Marnie Smith, also found that about 80% of respondents "did not believe the purposes of collateral consequences were clearly defined in their state's statutes" and that "judges appear to differentiate among collateral consequences," supporting some more strongly than others. The study, "Collateral Consequences of Criminal Convictions in American Courts," appears in The Justice System Journal, Vol, 29, #2.

National: New York Review of Books Features Disenfranchisement Publication

The New York Review of Books incorporated discussion of "Restoring the Right to Vote," a 34-page publication authored by Erika Wood of the Brennan Center for Justice in a review of electoral issues. The report proposes automatic post-incarceration voting rights restoration.

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Contact Information -- e-mail: zjennings@sentencingproject.org, web: http://www.sentencingproject.org

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