"No standards guide the [clemency] panel," U.S. District Judge Mark Walker wrote. | Getty Images Federal judge says Florida system for restoring former felons' voting rights unconstitutional

TALLAHASSEE — In a blistering order filed Thursday night, a federal judge said Florida’s process for restoring voter’s rights shaped by Gov. Rick Scott's administration was unconstitutional and driven by campaign politics.

The 43-page order from U.S. District Judge Mark Walker, an appointee of former President Barack Obama, opened with a brutal assessment of the state’s clemency system, noting it has "unfettered discretion in restoring voting rights."


"No standards guide the [clemency] panel," he wrote. "Its members alone must be satisfied that these citizens deserve restoration."

He took note of the case of Steven Warner, a white man who illegally voted during the 2010 election, when Scott first appeared on the ballot as a gubernatorial candidate. Three years later, he went before the clemency board to have his voting rights restored.

When Scott asked him about the illegal vote during the hearing, Warner said “actually, I voted for you.”

“The governor laughed. ‘I probably shouldn’t respond to that.’ A few seconds passed. The governor then granted the former felon his voting rights,” wrote Walker in describing the exchange in Thursday's ruling.

Under the state’s current system, convicted felons have a lifetime voting ban, but can seek restoration of those rights in front of Florida’s Executive Clemency Board, which is comprised of Scott and members of the Florida Cabinet. Scott and two Cabinet members must agree to restore those rights. But under the current system, the governor ultimately has final say.

“To vote again, disenfranchised citizens must kowtow before a panel of high-level government officials over which Florida’s Governor has absolute veto authority,” Walker wrote.

In responding to the judge's order, Scott’s office said they would continue to fight to uphold the current system.

“The Governor believes that convicted felons should show that they can lead a life free of crime and be accountable to their victims and our communities,” said John Tupps, Scott’s communications director. “While we are reviewing today’s ruling, we will continue to defend this process in the court.”

The lawsuit was filed by the Fair Elections Legal Network, a voting rights group, on behalf of nine felons. The named defendant was the governor. The judge gave both sides until Feb. 12 to file briefings offering fixes to the system.

The Fair Elections Legal Network issued a statement applauding the order.

“Today a federal court said what so many Floridians have known for so long — that the state’s arbitrary restoration process, which forces former felons to beg for their right to vote, violates the oldest and most basic principles of our democracy,” said Jon Sherman, the group’s senior counsel.

The state’s clemency process was changed in 2011 when Scott led the charge to end a process that allowed non-violent felons to get restored voting rights without having to apply. He had the support of the three fellow Republicans who sat on the Cabinet, including then-CFO Jeff Atwater, Attorney General Pam Bondi and Agriculture Commissioner Adam Putnam, who is now running for governor.

That decision overturned a policy put in place by former Republican Gov. Charlie Crist, now a Democratic member of Congress. During his one four-year term in office, more than 150,000 citizens had voting rights restored, a number that has dropped to 3,000 since 2011.

Florida has one of the largest number of residents who can’t vote because they are convicted felons.

“More than one-tenth of Florida’s voting population — nearly 1.7 million as of 2016 — cannot vote because they have been decimated from the body politics,” Walker wrote.

Walker added that “more than one in five of Florida’s African American voting-age population cannot vote.”

The issue will be one of intense political interest during the 2018 midterm elections. A group called Floridians for a Fair Democracy is pushing a ballot measure that would restore voting rights to those who completed their sentences, parole or probation. It collected the 799,000 signatures needed to get on the November ballot. Sixty percent of Florida voters must approve it for it to be added to the state constitution.