Petition-gatherers to be registered with the state, ballots would have to include information about contributions raised by amendment sponsors, whether out-of-state petition circulators were used and whether amendments could lead to tax increases.
Voting Rights
Renner’s Panel Goes Jekyll and Hyde on Felons, Easing Punishments But Not Voting Rights
The House Judiciary Committee Palm Coast’s Paul Renner chairs on Tuesday passed a crime bill that eases some punishments and makes it easier for felons to reintegrate society but also passed a restrictive interpretation of Amendment 4 and felons’ right to vote.
Senate Panel Advances Bill That Would Require Felons to Pay Fines and Restitution Before Voting
The 3-2 party-line vote followed a hurried 27-minute hearing on the bill, sponsored by Sen. Jeff Brandes, the Pinellas County Republican. Opponents of the bill are pleading to make financial burdens a roadblock to voting.
Felons’ Right To Vote and Paul Renner’s Cynical End Run Around Amendment 4
Paul Renner, Flagler’s GOP representative and future Speaker of the House, is being dishonest and disingenuous in his defense of a bill that would make felons’ right to vote dependent on paying back all financial obligations.
‘That’s Like a Poll Tax’: Senate Bill Would Require All Restitution Paid Before Restoring Voting Right
Dozens of people who traveled to the state Capitol to plead with lawmakers to do nothing or to dramatically scale back House and Senate bills designed to carry out the amendment. Many amendment supporters do not believe the measure requires legislative action.
Critics See Jim Crow Poll Taxes In House Plan To Make Felons Pay Up Before Voting
Felons would have to clear up any financial obligations, including court costs, fees and fines, before having their voting rights restored, under a House proposal castigated by critics Tuesday as a modern take on Jim Crow-era poll taxes designed to keep black voters from participating in elections.
Federal Appeals Court Hammers Florida For Imposing ‘Serious Burden’ on Right To Vote
The 11th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals ruled that a Florida law requiring voters’ signatures on mail-in ballots to match the signatures on file with elections officials imposes “a serious burden on the right to vote.”
Flagler Supervisor of Elections Wants To Know Why You Love Voting: Take the Survey
Flagler County Elections Supervisor Kaiti Lenhart is asking registered voters to take a five-question online survey about why and where they like to vote, grist for further voter outreach in the future.
Renner Wants ‘Objectivity’ To Drive Felons’ Voter Restoration, But Hurdles Are Multiplying
Elections officials could face a Herculean task trying to verify whether people who’ve registered to vote have met all the conditions required to make them eligible to cast ballots.
In Restoration of Felons’ Voting Rights, Meaning of ‘Murder’ Becomes Stumbling Block
A new constitutional amendment grants “automatic” restoration of voting rights to felons who’ve completed their sentence, but it excludes people “convicted of murder or a felony sexual offense.”