美国国家公共电台 NPR Felons In Florida Want Their Voting Rights Back Without A Hassle

 

STEVE INSKEEP, HOST:

Next, we have an update on voting rights for people who've been convicted of crimes. In the state of Florida, more than 10 percent of the adults in the state - more than 10 percent of all adults - are prohibited from voting because they've had felony convictions. This is because of a 150-year-old law. It bars felons¹ from voting unless officials approve a request to have their rights restored, which means nearly 1.5 million people in Florida cannot vote even though their sentences are complete. NPR's Greg Allen reports on efforts in Florida to change that law, one at the polls and one in the courts.

GREG ALLEN, BYLINE²: At the Capitol in Tallahassee, this scene plays out four times a year.

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RICK SCOTT: The executive clemency³ board meeting is now called to order.

ALLEN: Dozens of former felons, people whose sentences and probations are complete, stand before the governor and other Cabinet members to ask for clemency and the restoration of their right to vote. After waiting for years, Joanne Calvarese made her case to the clemency board in June.

JOANNE CALVARESE: I feel that I've paid my consequences. I know I don't deserve your mercy, but I beg you for it.

ALLEN: The panel gave Calvarese back the right to vote. Most of the 100 others making the same request that day were not as lucky. Across the U.S., most states restore voting rights to felons after they've completed their sentences. Some wait for probation⁴ and parole to be complete. In recent years, many states have updated and streamlined the process.

Florida, however, has gone in the other direction. When Governor Rick Scott took office seven years ago, he rolled back reforms put in place by his predecessor⁵ Charlie Crist. More than 150,000 Floridians had their voting rights restored during Crist's four years in office. In the seven years since then, Rick Scott has approved restoring voting rights to just over 3,000 people. At a hearing in 2016, Scott tried to explain to one man why he was denying his request to have his rights restored.

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SCOTT: Clemency is - there's no standard. We can do whatever we want. But it's tied to what we said in the beginning. It's tied to remorse⁶, and it's tied to understanding that we all want to live in a law-abiding society.

JON SHERMAN: There's no rule, no standard, no criteria⁷ governing their decision-making. Sometimes the governor simply says, I don't feel comfortable at this point.

ALLEN: Jon Sherman believes the arbitrary and inconsistent way in which Florida restores voting rights violates the U.S. Constitution. He's with the Fair Elections Legal Network and represents a group of former felons suing the state.

SHERMAN: A lot of people have seen how unfair and arbitrary the process is, how delayed - I mean, we've met people who are waiting for up to 10 years for a hearing on their application. And they see that, and they decide, you know, it's not worth it to even apply.

ALLEN: One of those suing Florida is Yraida Guanipa. She served 11 years on a drug trafficking conviction before being released in 2007. Since then, she's gone back to college, earned a B.A. and a masters and started a business in Miami. Her probation ended in 2012. But Guanipa says Florida's law requires her to wait an additional seven years before applying to have her rights restored.

YRAIDA GUANIPA: The seven years is not up until next year. And after that, I have to get into the line of the backlog⁸ of maybe 10 years. So I probably will be dead.

ALLEN: Part of the reason Florida withholds⁹ the right to vote from felons, Guanipa says, is political. She believes it's aimed at suppressing the vote in minority communities.

GUANIPA: It's not only punishing me, but it punishes my family and my community because it is blocking us to have a voice.

ALLEN: In Florida, more than 20 percent of eligible¹⁰ African-American adults are unable to vote because of the law. Earlier this year, a federal judge said Florida's process for clemency and restoring voting rights was unconstitutional. The state appealed, and arguments in the case are scheduled in a few weeks. But before there's a final decision on that, Florida voters will weigh in. A referendum that would restore voting eligibility¹¹ to most felons will be on the November ballot¹².

Greg Allen, NPR News, Miami.

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1 felons   

n.重罪犯( felon的名词复数 )；瘭疽；甲沟炎；指头脓炎

参考例句：

• Aren't those the seats they use for transporting convicted felons? 这些坐位不是他们用来押运重犯的吗？ 来自电影对白
• House Republicans talk of making felons out of the undocumented and those who help them. 众议院共和党议员正商议对未登记的非法移民以及包庇他们的人课以重罪。 来自互联网

2 byline   

n.署名；v.署名

参考例句：

• His byline was absent as well.他的署名也不见了。
• We wish to thank the author of this article which carries no byline.我们要感谢这篇文章的那位没有署名的作者。

3 clemency   

n.温和，仁慈，宽厚

参考例句：

• The question of clemency would rest with the King.宽大处理问题，将由国王决定。
• They addressed to the governor a plea for clemency.他们向州长提交了宽刑的申辨书。

4 probation   

n.缓刑(期)，(以观后效的)察看；试用(期)

参考例句：

• The judge did not jail the young man,but put him on probation for a year.法官没有把那个年轻人关进监狱，而且将他缓刑察看一年。
• His salary was raised by 800 yuan after his probation.试用期满以后，他的工资增加了800元。

5 predecessor   

n.前辈，前任

参考例句：

• It will share the fate of its predecessor.它将遭受与前者同样的命运。
• The new ambassador is more mature than his predecessor.新大使比他的前任更成熟一些。

6 remorse   

n.痛恨，悔恨，自责

参考例句：

• She had no remorse about what she had said.她对所说的话不后悔。
• He has shown no remorse for his actions.他对自己的行为没有任何悔恨之意。

7 criteria   

n.标准

参考例句：

• The main criterion is value for money.主要的标准是钱要用得划算。
• There are strict criteria for inclusion in the competition.参赛的标准很严格。

8 backlog   

n.积压未办之事

参考例句：

• It will take a month to clear the backlog of work.要花一个月的时间才能清理完积压的工作。
• Investment is needed to reduce the backlog of repairs.需要投资来減轻积压的维修工作。

9 withholds   

v.扣留( withhold的第三人称单数 )；拒绝给予；抑制（某事物）；制止

参考例句：

• Marketing success or failure is directly traceable to the support that top management gives or withholds. 市场营销的成败直接归因于最高管理层能否给予支持。 来自辞典例句
• I lie awake fuming-isn't It'supposed to be the woman who withholds favours? 我干躺在那儿，气得睡不着：不应该是女人才会拿性作为要挟吗？ 来自互联网

10 eligible   

adj.有条件被选中的；(尤指婚姻等)合适(意)的

参考例句：

• He is an eligible young man.他是一个合格的年轻人。
• Helen married an eligible bachelor.海伦嫁给了一个中意的单身汉。

11 eligibility   

n.合格，资格

参考例句：

• What are the eligibility requirements? 病人被选参加试验的要求是什么？ 来自英汉非文学 - 生命科学 - 回顾与展望
• Eligibility for HINARI access is based on gross national income (GNI). 进入HINARI获取计划是依据国民总收入来评定的。

12 ballot   

n.（不记名）投票，投票总数，投票权；vi.投票

参考例句：

• The members have demanded a ballot.会员们要求投票表决。
• The union said they will ballot members on whether to strike.工会称他们将要求会员投票表决是否罢工。