Florida Takes Step In Restoring Voting Rights to 1.5 Million Former Felons

By Vivian El-Salawy on January 25, 2018

According to Mother Jones, there are approximately 6.1 million former felons across the United States that are unable to vote, and out of those 6.1 million, more than a quarter reside in Florida. However, it seems that Floridian voters believe in second chances.

Image via Pexels

This November, Florida voters will have the chance to restore voting rights to over 1.5 million felons. On Tuesday, February 23rd, the proposed constitution amendment reached 766,200 petition signatures – the required number of signatures to go on the ballot.  According to Think Progress, the Voting Restoration Amendment would restore rights to citizens convicted of felonies that have completed their sentence, parole, and probation. The only former felons that would be excluded are those convicted of murder and sexual assault offenses.

If the amendment is approved with at least a 60% vote in November, then it has the potential to change a great deal in the realm of Florida politics. Reason being is that Florida has some of the strictest felon disenfranchisement laws in the country. Because of this, well over a million and a half Florida citizens are unable to vote. Nearly a quarter of those citizens are African Americans.

Image via Unsplash

According to the Sentencing Project, “approximately 2.5 percent of the total U.S. voting age population — 1 of every 40 adults — is disenfranchised due to a current or previous felony conviction.” In fact, the United States as a whole remains to be one of the world’s strictest nations when it comes to denying the right to vote to citizens convicted of crimes.

If this amendment were to pass, it has the potential to change the entire political makeup of the state of Florida. For instance, Trump defeated Hillary Clinton by 112,000 votes in Florida. With 500,000 African Americans disenfranchised in the state and an 84-8 margin for voters favoring Clinton over Trump, this could have heavily influenced the results of the most recent election, and will greatly influence the results in future elections.

Image via Unsplash

In fact, this isn’t the only way that many minorities have been barred from voting. According to an opinion piece by David Leonhardt with the New York Times, officials in several states have tried to reduce voting hours, close polling stations or erect barriers to voting, like strict ID rules, which have disproportionally affected minorities – often intentionally.

Florida is a state that has taken a large step in a new, counter direction. Florida Republican Carlos Curbelo, a state representative, mentioned in a statement that “fellow Floridians who have made mistakes and paid their debt to society deserve an opportunity to have a voice in the future of our state and country”.

All in all, it will be interesting to see what happens in November, and refreshing to watch one of the strictest states in terms of disenfranchisement to take a step in the opposite direction through giving former felons a second chance in restoring their rights.

Follow Uloop

Apply to Write for Uloop News

Join the Uloop News Team

Discuss This Article

Back to Top

Log In

Contact Us

Upload An Image

Please select an image to upload
Note: must be in .png, .gif or .jpg format
OR
Provide URL where image can be downloaded
Note: must be in .png, .gif or .jpg format

By clicking this button,
you agree to the terms of use

By clicking "Create Alert" I agree to the Uloop Terms of Use.

Image not available.

Add a Photo

Please select a photo to upload
Note: must be in .png, .gif or .jpg format