A federal judge has found the system for ex-felons in Florida to restore their voting rights is unconstitutional. Judge Mark Walker ruled the current system is unconstitutional because the process puts too much emphasis on the personal decision of the governor. The current law requires felons to apply to have their rights to vote restored after a five-year waiting period from their release. The judge set a Feb. 12 deadline for both sides in a lawsuit to come up with a new system. In the meantime,
Floridians will vote in November on a ballot measure that would restore voting rights to more than a million ex-felons if passed.
In a landmark ruling with far-reaching implications, U.S. District Judge Mark Walker has found Florida's scheme for restoring the voting rights of felons unconstitutional.
Walker, in a 43-page order issued today, found that Florida "automatically disenfranchises" any individual who has been convicted of a felony and wishes to vote.
"Florida strips the right to vote from every man and woman who commits a felony," Walker wrote. "To vote again, disenfranchised citizens must kowtow before a panel of high-level government officials over which Florida's governor has absolute veto authority. No standards guide the panel. Its members alone must be satisfied that these citizens deserve restoration."