ORLANDO, Fla. — The upcoming 2022 midterm election brings a feeling of unease to Debra Bennett-Austin.
She is among more than a million Floridians who had their voting rights restored in 2018, when nearly two-thirds of voters approved a constitutional amendment that gives people with felony convictions access to the ballot after completing the terms of their sentence.
Bennett-Austin, who was convicted of trafficking a controlled substance, meets the criteria, yet she remains hesitant to vote.
“Even if I saw verbiage and heard from somebody that it was okay I don’t want to necessarily say that I would be comfortable voting,” she said. “As much as I want to vote what’s in out, I don’t know if I’m willing to subject myself to possible arrest.”
Bennett-Austin worries about finding herself in a similar position to the 20 people Gov. Ron DeSantis’ new Office of Election Crimes and Security accused of voter fraud in August. Her sentiment is shared by other ex-offenders who have struggled to understand their own eligibility — and fear that casting a ballot could send them back to prison.
Denise Rock, the executive director of the prisoner advocacy group Florida Cares, said the language in 2018′s Amendment 4 is as “clear as mud.”
“We have a number of people who are not going to vote because they are not sure,” she said. “It’s like going to the driver’s license office, you hand me my driver’s license and then you arrest me for driving.”
Those arrested for casting a ballot in the 2020 election had previous convictions for murder or felony sex offenses, which are exceptions to the rights restoration amendment. But in almost all instances, the accused ex-offenders were issued voter registration cards before they went to the polls — despite their ineligibility.
Each faces at least one felony charge with a penalty of up to five years in prison.
In Orange County, that includes 52-year-old Michelle Stribling, 59-year-old Peter Washington and 72-year-old Jerry Lee Foster. Others were arrested in Hillsborough, Broward, Palm Beach and Miami-Dade counties.
Roger Weeden, who represents Washington and Stribling, said his clients were each encouraged to register and vote. Weeden said Washington voted in 2020 and wasn’t notified of his ineligibility until December 2021. Stribling, too, had no warning.
“No one suggested there would be any pitfalls or any repercussions or the threat of repercussions,” he said.
According to affidavits, all three arrested voters in Orange County received voter ID cards and told investigators they thought they could vote. They also affirmed on voting applications that their rights had been restored.
“When Amendment 4 passed, it was really the assumption that we could all vote,” Bennett-Austin said. “It’s scary to think you could go to prison, come home, think that you’re doing all of the right things and get arrested and jeopardize your freedom all over again.”
Neil Volz, deputy director of the Florida Rights Restoration Coalition, said more than 216,000 returning citizens were registered to vote in August, adding that these individuals need to receive help from the state to determine if they’re eligible to vote.
“After the August arrests we definitely saw these anxieties about the confusion in the system,” he said. “If we can get the verification process fixed on the front end, then nobody needs to get arrested on the back end, nor should they.”
The coalition is helping connect the people DeSantis has accused of voting illegally in 2020 with pro-bono legal defenses.
One defendant’s case was dismissed in late October by Miami-Dade Circuit Judge Milton Hirsch, who ruled the Office of Statewide Prosecution overreached its jurisdiction because the case involved only one judicial circuit — the one where the accused voted.
The statewide prosecutor argues the crimes occurred in multiple circuits because the voting and registration process goes through multiple government agencies, with voter registration cards processed by Florida’s Division of Elections in Tallahassee.
Following the Miami dismissal, Weeden said he intends to file a motion to dismiss the cases against Washington and Stribling on similar grounds.
“The fact that the Supervisor of Elections may have electronically transferred the result of his vote to Tallahassee, that was just a ministerial act. ... It was not a criminal act and certainly not a criminal act by Mr. Washington,” Weeden said.
In a previous interview with the Orlando Sentinel, Division of Elections spokesperson Mark Ard said the arrested voters “committed perjury” when signing up to vote. He did not fault his agency’s process for screening voters.
Since the rollout of 2018 amendment, the screening process has led to confusion among would-be voters with felony convictions. The state Legislature’s requirement that all fines and fees be paid before a person’s sentence is considered complete made the process of determining eligibility more complex.
John Eddings said he took a major chance by voting in the 2020 presidential election after spending almost 40 years behind bars. Come Feb. 13, Eddings will be celebrating 10 years out of prison.
“I went ahead and registered and voted and just took my chances because it had been so long, and I couldn’t remember [any fines owned] and to track it down could have taken forever,” he said. “So I took my chances and I haven’t gotten arrested, so I think it’s okay.”
He also voted in the 2022 primaries.
Had something like the August arrests happened before the 2020 election, Eddings said he may have been deterred.
“Being able to vote is not worth going to jail for. Not right now. I lead a decent life,” he said. “I’d probably wait to see how they clean it up.”
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