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Critics angry after Ron DeSantis asks Florida lawmakers to review Amendment 4 implementation

James Call
Tallahassee Democrat
Florida Republican gubernatorial candidate Ron DeSantis speaks during a CNN debate against opponent Democratic gubernatorial candidate Andrew Gillum, Sunday, Oct. 21, 2018, in Tampa, Fla. (AP Photo/Chris O'Meara)

The moment Amendment 4 passed in November, felons have been calling Supervisor of Elections Offices across the state demanding to know how soon they could register to vote.

Now, Gov.-elect Ron DeSantis wants them to wait until the Legislature has had a chance to vet the voting-rights restoration amendment to the constitution – a move decried by supporters of the initiative.

DeSantis said the proposal approved by more than 60 percent of voters should not take effect until “implementing language” is approved by the Legislature and he has signed it.

“They’re going to be able to do that in March,” DeSantis told the Palm Beach Post. “There’s no way you can go through this session without implementing it.”

That drew a quick rebuke from his rival for the Governor's Mansion, former-Tallahassee Mayor Andrew Gillum, who tweeted:  "The role of the governor is to faithfully execute the laws, including #Amendment4 on January 8 — and not one day later. Justice delayed is justice denied."

DeSantis' statement creates the possibility that thousands of felons in House districts 7 and 97 could miss special elections to fill seats of legislators tapped by the incoming governor to lead state agencies.

Rep. Halsey Beshears is nominated to be the next Department of Business and Professional Regulations secretary while Rep. Jared Moskowitz is DeSantis' pick to head the Department of Management Services. Given the uncertainty, voters in those two districts could go without representation during the 2019 session of the Florida Legislature until lawmakers and DeSantis act.

DeSantis takes office Jan.8 and lawmakers won’t meet in session until March 5.  The time requirements for a special election can be met within the eight-week window, between when DeSantis takes office and lawmakers convene in Tallahassee.  

The two candidates vying to replace Beshears said it’s important the 10-county-hurricane-ravaged north Florida district has representation in the House during the 2019 session.

Campaign supporters lined the street on the last day of early voting and day of Souls to the Polls, at the Leroy Collins Leon County Public Library, on Sunday, Nov. 4, 2018,

Secretary of State Ken Detzner has said he and other election officials need direction from the Legislature about definitions to implement the amendment.

On Thursday, the American Civil Liberties Union and other groups which supported the amendment wrote Detzner asserting that a Florida Supreme Court opinion stated that the amendment automatically restores voting rights and also cited a State of Florida filing as the state's acknowledgment that the amendment is self-implementing.

The ACLU warns if DeSantis' position holds there would be at least a two-month delay in the restoration of voting rights – after many municipal elections in February and potentially the special elections for HD 7 and HD 97.

Sen. Jeff Brandes, R-St. Petersburg, said the confusion stems from when a sentence ends.

“Does that involve court costs? Does that include restitution paid?” he asked during a committee meeting.

While the amendment supporters say it is self-implementing and goes into effect Jan. 8, Sen. President Bill Galvano appears unsure. He said he directed his Criminal Justice Committee chair to look at the language to see whether county election supervisors need any guidance from lawmakers.

“Some questions have been raised recently in terms of how you define some of the terms within the amendment, so it is something that I want to take another look at,” said Galvano. “But if I had to err, I would err on the side of it to be self-implementing.”

Given the confusion over implementing Amendment 4, Orlando Democratic Rep. Carlos Guillermo Smith took to Twitter to interpret developments at the Capitol.

He told his followers the new governor wanted to use the Legislature to try and stop what 64 percent of Floridians voted to support – 1.5 million felons getting the right to vote.

“We’ve seen this movie before,” Smith tweeted. “They don’t want to restore voting rights or implement medical cannabis, or fair districts, or environmental funding. When you pass constitutional amendments, the @FloridaGOP looks for ways to get around it.”

Reporter James Call can be reached at jcall@tallahassee.com.