TALLAHASSEE, Fla. (AP) — A federal judge is being asked to automatically restore the voting rights to former convicts in Florida who have been out of prison at least five years.
Lawyers for a voting rights organization made the request to U.S. District Judge Mark Walker on Monday. Walker earlier this month ruled the Florida's system of restoring voting rights for felons who have served their time is arbitrary and unconstitutional and needs to be changed. He asked both sides to tell him how the state should comply with his decision. Attorney General Pam Bondi's office says that Walker should refrain from ordering the state to take any actions. Instead, the judge should leave it up to Gov. Rick Scott and other state officials to decide how to change the current system.