After voter fraud arrest, Florida woman has charges dropped, then registers to vote

A month and a half ago, a police officer put Marsha Ervin’s hands behind her back and led the 69-year-old out of her home at 3 a.m.

“Pretty tight,” the Tallahassee resident gasped from the back of the police car, a bump jolting the cuffs.

But on Wednesday afternoon, her hands were raised in celebration, clasped by those who helped get her charges dropped.

“Thank you everyone,” she said in front of the Leon County Supervisor of Elections Office. “And, most of all, thank you Jesus.”

Ervin is one of dozens in Gov. Ron DeSantis’ Florida to get arrested following voter eligibility confusion. But she isn’t confused anymore.

Ervin walked into the elections office to cheers, followed closely by the group of civil rights leaders, local officials and advocates that worked to get her there, including renowned civil rights lawyer Ben Crump.

She went to the front desk and picked up a pen. For several moments, there was silence, at least beyond the snapping of photographs and scribbles on paper.

Silence, enough that those clustered near could hear Ervin’s pen drop.

Applause broke out.

“Marsha Ervin is registered to vote!” Crump said.

Wednesday a 'focal point'

Mark Earley, Leon County’s supervisor of elections, watched the scene from the side of the room.

“When you register to vote, and you actually vote, that’s a celebration of your citizenship, it’s a celebration of your democracy. It should be a joyous event,” he said. “It’s just plain bad that there’s so much uncertainty for some people whether they’re qualified to vote, and there’s no real good tools they can take advantage of to determine what their status is.”

Ervin’s situation clearly showed the problem, he said.

“Oftentimes, the first step in getting solutions is to have a focal point that highlights what those problems are,” he said. “Hopefully this will be a major step in getting things done.”

Convicted of aggravated neglect of an elderly person, Ervin had been released from prison in 2018.

That same year, voters approved Amendment 4, which aimed to restore voting rights to those barred because of past felony convictions, with the exception of murder or sexual offenses.

Believing that applied to her, Ervin registered as a Democrat in 2020 and cast her ballot in two different elections. But the amendment never allowed those on felony probation to vote.

Ervin’s own probation wasn’t due to end until late November, two months after the state issued warrants for her arrest.

After her arrest, Crump and Mutaqee Akbar, the Tallahassee NAACP president, jumped in as her attorneys. They hosted a rally in front of the state attorney's office prosecuting her.

State Attorney Jack Campbell dropped her charges, saying information provided by Earley and Ervin’s probation office revealed a “lack of evidence to establish intent.”

And at her attorneys’ request, Ervin got released from probation early.

They gave her the all-clear to register after making sure she didn’t have any outstanding legal fines or fees. Months after Amendment 4's passage, the Republican-controlled Legislature passed a bill signed into law by DeSantis requiring those with prior felony convictions to meet all their past legal financial obligations before becoming eligible.

Wednesday "is a victory over the enemies of equality, who want to suppress the votes of many marginalized people, especially Black and brown people,” Crump said at the press event celebrating her registration.

Most of the former felony offenders in Florida arrested for ineligible voting were Black, were issued voter registration cards and said they thought they were eligible to vote.

Advocates, though, said the state should fix the confusion instead of arresting them for it.

Earley and many of those advocates recommend the state create a statewide database to track eligibility. The state has an advisory process to determine whether someone can vote, but Earley said it’s not well-known, cumbersome and backlogged.

“There’s always a way to get things done, with funding and with a push from the Legislature,” he said.

Ervin's charges dropped: Voter fraud charges dropped against 69-year-old Florida woman arrested at 3 a.m.

Civil rights leaders rallied in support: Civil rights leaders, advocacy groups join defense of Florida woman accused of voter fraud

Ervin: 'People want change'

At Wednesday’s event, Leon County Commissioner Bill Proctor encouraged the public to make sure they’re able to register, and then actually register, in advance of the 2024 general election.

“Make sure your i’s are dotted, your t’s are crossed,” he said. “Florida is doing all it can to shake loose progressive voters.”

Akbar said the event showed the world that Ervin would not be intimidated – but its meaning went beyond her.

“We want to send a message to everybody, including our returning citizens who have lost their rights, that it's OK,” he said. “Come out here and register and be a part of this process, because as long as we're part of this process, we can stop laws like [the one that led to Ervin’s arrest].”

Ervin says that message is important. After her arrest, she said many people told her they’re not going to vote anymore, scared they might get arrested. But voting is important too, she said.

“People want change,” she said in an interview. “People want the wrong things to be changed to the right things, because this state, a lot of states, they don’t really care about people… They don’t think felons need any rights. We don’t need to do anything.

“But that’s not how it’s supported to be,” she said.

This reporting content is supported by a partnership with Freedom Forum and Journalism Funding Partners. USA Today Network-Florida First Amendment reporter Douglas Soule is based in Tallahassee, Fla. He can be reached at DSoule@gannett.com. Twitter: @DouglasSoule.

This article originally appeared on Tallahassee Democrat: Florida woman registers to vote after voter fraud charges dropped