Voting Rights and Election Administration in Florida

VOTING RIGHTS AND ELECTION ADMINISTRATION IN FLORIDA HEARING BEFORE THE SUBCOMMITTEE ON ELECTIONS COMMITTEE ON HOUSE ADMINISTRATION HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES ONE HUNDRED SIXTEENTH CONGRESS FIRST SESSION MAY 6, 2019 Printed for the use of the Committee on House Administration ( Available on the Internet: https://www.gpoinfo.gov/committee/house-administration U.S. GOVERNMENT PUBLISHING OFFICE 38–118 WASHINGTON : 2019 VerDate Sep 11 2014 01:35 Oct 31, 2019 Jkt 038118 PO 00000 Frm 00001 Fmt 5011 Sfmt 5011 E:\HR\OC\A118.XXX A118 dlhill on DSKBBY8HB2PROD with HEARING VerDate Sep 11 2014 01:35 Oct 31, 2019 Jkt 038118 PO 00000 Frm 00002 Fmt 5011 Sfmt 5011 E:\HR\OC\A118.XXX A118 dlhill on DSKBBY8HB2PROD with HEARING C O N T E N T S MAY 6, 2019 Page Voting Rights and Election Administration in Florida ......................................... 1 OPENING STATEMENTS Chairwoman Marcia L. Fudge ................................................................................ 1 Prepared statement of Chairwoman Fudge ................................................... 4 Hon. Barry Loudermilk ........................................................................................... 6 Prepared statement of Hon. Loudermilk ........................................................ 8 WITNESSES Anjenys Gonzalez-Eilert, Executive Director, Common Cause Florida ............... 15 Prepared statement of Ms. Gonzalez-Eilert ................................................... 17 Andrew Gillum, Chair, Forward Florida ............................................................... 28 Prepared statement of Mr. Gillum .................................................................. 30 Nancy Batista, Florida State Director, Mi Familia Vota ..................................... 34 Prepared statement of Ms. Batista ................................................................. 36 Marleine Bastien, Founder and Executive Director, FANM Ayisyen Nan Miymi, Inc. ............................................................................................................ 40 Prepared statement of Ms. Bastien ................................................................. 42 Juan Cartagena, President and Senior Counsel, LatinoJustice PRLDEF .......... 73 Prepared statement of Mr. Cartagena ............................................................ 76 Karen Wilkerson, League of Women Voters of Florida ........................................ 82 Prepared statement of Ms. Wilkerson ............................................................ 84 Judith Browne Dianis, Executive Director; Advancement Project ...................... 86 Prepared statement of Ms. Dianis .................................................................. 88 Logan Churchwell, Communication and Research Director, Public Interest Legal Foundation ................................................................................................. 94 Prepared statement of Mr. Churchwell .......................................................... 96 SUBMISSIONS FOR THE RECORD Southern Poverty Law Center, submission ........................................................... 129 New Florida Majority-Education Fund, submission ............................................. 133 Laura Guren Rodriguez, Co-Chair State Policy Advocate, National Council of Jewish Women, submission ............................................................................. 139 Advancement Project, Democracy Rising: The End of Florida’s History of Felony Disenfranchisement and Launch of a New Age of Empowerment, Submission ............................................................................................................ 141 (III) VerDate Sep 11 2014 07:20 Oct 31, 2019 Jkt 038118 PO 00000 Frm 00003 Fmt 5904 Sfmt 5904 E:\HR\OC\A118.XXX A118 dlhill on DSKBBY8HB2PROD with HEARING VerDate Sep 11 2014 06:32 Oct 31, 2019 Jkt 038118 PO 00000 Frm 00004 Fmt 5904 Sfmt 5904 E:\HR\OC\A118.XXX A118 dlhill on DSKBBY8HB2PROD with HEARING VOTING RIGHTS AND ELECTION ADMINISTRATION IN FLORIDA MONDAY, MAY 6, 2019 HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES, SUBCOMMITTEE ON ELECTIONS, COMMITTEE ON HOUSE ADMINISTRATION, Washington, DC. The Subcommittee met, pursuant to call, at 10:00 a.m., at 115 South Andrews Avenue, Fort Lauderdale, Florida, Hon. Marcia L. Fudge (Chair of the Subcommittee) presiding. Present: Representatives Fudge, Butterfield, Aguilar, and Loudermilk. Also Present: Representatives Hastings, Deutch, Wasserman Schultz, and Wilson. Staff Present: Peter Whippy, Communications Director; Mannal Haddad, Press Secretary; Eddie Flaherty, Chief Clerk; Sean Jones, Legislative Clerk; Khalil Abboud, Deputy Staff Director; Sarah Nasta, Counsel—Elections; David Tucker, Parliamentarian; Vivian Piereschi, Ms. Wasserman Schultz’s District Director; Wendi Lipsich, Mr. Deutch’s District Director; Joyce Postell, Ms. Wilson’s District Director; Patricia Williams, Mr. Hastings’ District Director; Courtney Parella, Minority Communications Director; Jesse Rob- erts, Minority Counsel; Cole Felder, Minority General Counsel; and Joy Yunji-Lee, Minority Counsel. Chairwoman FUDGE. The Subcommittee on Elections of the Com- mittee on House Administration will come to order. I would like to thank all the Members of the Subcommittee and my colleagues from the House who are here today as well as our witnesses and those in the audience for being with us this morning. I ask unanimous consent that all Members have 5 legislative days to revise and extend their remarks and that any written statements be made part of the record. Hearing no objection, so ordered. I ask unanimous consent that Members be invited to sit on the dais for the Subcommittee hearing. They are, in order: Mr. Deutch, Ms. Wasserman Schultz, Mr. Hastings, Ms. Wilson. Hearing no objection, so ordered. I especially want to thank my good friend and distinguished col- league, Mr. Hastings, for welcoming us so warmly to his district as we continue the important work we do as a Subcommittee. We are here to examine the state of voting rights and election administration in Florida. As this Subcommittee continues to travel the country, I can think of no better place than here in Florida, a (1) VerDate Sep 11 2014 01:35 Oct 31, 2019 Jkt 038118 PO 00000 Frm 00005 Fmt 6633 Sfmt 6602 E:\HR\OC\A118.XXX A118 dlhill on DSKBBY8HB2PROD with HEARING 2 State that is no stranger to having its elections become the focus of national attention. The right to vote is fundamental to a strong, thriving democracy, and yet, in our travels around the country and here in Florida, we see repeated attempts to suppress the vote. Florida has one of the most repressive disenfranchisement policies in the country and has made it extremely difficult for those convicted of a felony to have the voting rights restored. Between 2010 and 2016, the number of disenfranchised Floridians grew from 150,000 to approximately 1.68 million. On November 6, 2018, a resounding 65 percent of Florida voters cast their ballots in support of Amendment 4, a constitutional amendment that would restore voting rights to the over 1 million Floridians who have been disenfranchised. It was a watershed mo- ment for civil rights and for the dignity and worth of all Floridians. Sadly, shortly thereafter, Republicans in Florida began to under- mine its implementation. The bill passed last week by the Florida State legislature would require people with felony convictions to pay all restitution, fines, and fees resulting from their sentences or get these fees excused by a judge before becoming eligible to vote. This bill is wholly unnecessary, as Amendment 4 was self-exe- cuting and did not require implementing legislation. This measure is nothing but a poll tax that would effectively disenfranchise those that who unable to pay if signed into law. They do nothing to ensure election integrity and are merely a pretext to suppress the vote. Further, they blatantly ignore the will of the Florida voters that approved the measure in a retroactive act of voter suppression. It is an act of defiance by this legislature. Florida has also been a host of other voting rights and election administration issues in recent years. I very well remember hang- ing chads. Just last year, the Florida Secretary of State and the supervisors of elections in 32 counties were sued for violating the Voting Rights Act requirements which would provide bilingual voting machines and assistance for Spanish-speaking voters. In both 2016 and 2018, October hurricanes made it difficult for voters to register before the deadline or receive their vote-by-mail ballots. The legislature did nothing to help. Florida has seen repeated attempts at voter purging, and the purge rate has been steadily been increasing over the years. From November 2008 to November 2010, the median purge rate was 0.2 percent. It rose to 3.6 percent from 2012 to 2014 and jumped to more than 7 percent between December 2016 and September 2018. Florida has always sought to restrict early voting. In 2014, the Florida Department of State issued an opinion banning colleges and universities from housing early voting locations. That opinion was overturned by a district court judge in 2018. However, several counties ignored the district court and refused to provide such rights on campuses. Today, we will hear from experts, activists, and litigators who have worked for years to ensure that every Floridian can exercise his or right to vote. Their testimony will help as Congress seeks to VerDate Sep 11 2014 01:35 Oct 31, 2019 Jkt 038118 PO 00000 Frm 00006

Load more