A three-judge panel of the 11th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals, is hearing a lawsuit challenging the constitutionality of Florida’s process for restoring the right to vote to felons who’ve completed their sentences and paid restitution. Florida’s Solicitor General told the Appeals Judges that the clemency process is not unconstitutional. The state requires felons to wait five or seven years to apply for rights restoration – and years after that to complete the process. Since the process when into effect in 2011, the clemency board has restored rights to about 3,000 of the 30,000 felons who’ve applied, compared to more than 155,000 whose rights were restored under former Gov. Charlie Crist.
