Convicted Florida lawmaker files bill to restore felons' voting rights

TALLAHASSEE, Fla. -- A bill that would automatically return voting rights to felons after they complete their sentences has been introduced by a Florida legislator who is still in office even though he is a convicted felon.

The bill introduced Thursday by state Sen. Gary Siplin would change the state's long-standing constitutional ban on felon voting. Now, a felon's rights can only be restored by the state's clemency board, which must hear each case in a process that can take months or years.

Florida is one of just three states -- all in the South -- that don't automatically restore voting rights after completion of a sentence, said Senate Minority Leader Steven Geller.

Siplin, a two-term Democrat from Orlando, was convicted in August on felony grand theft charges for having employees work on his 2004 re-election campaign on state time. He was sentenced last month to three years' probation and 300 hours of community service, but that has been postponed pending his appeal.

Siplin's attorney, Bruce Rogow, said Tuesday that briefs are due to the appellate court in late January.

Although the conviction disqualified Siplin from voting in the November election, he has not been formally removed from the state's voter database, Orange County elections supervisor Bill Cowles told The Miami Herald earlier this month. There was no additional comment from Cowles on Tuesday; his office was closed and phones there didn't accept messages.

Any effort to remove Siplin from his seat would have to be initiated by Senate President Ken Pruitt, a Republican, and voted on by the Senate, but a state Supreme Court ruling in 1918 said an elected official cannot be disqualified from office until a criminal case has been decided on appeal.

"We're not in a position to take action on this," Pruitt said.

The Florida Senate has never expelled one of its members.

Senate leaders from both parties said Tuesday they would have preferred that Siplin not get involved with the issue. "It probably wasn't the smartest bill for Gary to file," said Geller.

However, a similar bill was filed a week earlier by state Sen. Mandy Dawson.

Siplin, 52, an Orlando attorney, is the first Florida legislator to remain in office after a felony conviction. Calls to his Orlando and Capitol offices seeking comment Tuesday were not returned.

Siplin was briefly jailed last month for traveling to Tallahassee without informing his probation officer.