Florida to vote on restoring felon voting rights

Jan. 23 (UPI) -- An initiative to end lifetime voting bans for felons in Florida has reached enough signatures to be on the November ballot, officials said Tuesday.

Floridians for Fair Democracy gathered more than 800,000 certified signatures to get the initiative on the ballot. The amendment would restore voting rights to felons after their sentence is completed, including probation and parole. but it would not apply to those convicted of murder or sexual offenses.

"No one thought we would get here, but we're here," said FFR founder Desmond Meade in a Facebook video. "We're one step closer to liberating and giving over 1.6 million people a shot at redemption, a shot at restoration, a shot at citizenship."

Florida is one of only three states in the country, along with Iowa and Kentucky, to permanently ban felons from voting. Those convicted of felonies in Florida are barred from voting unless they've received a full pardon, conditional pardon, or restoration of civil rights by the governor.

But such pardons are extremely rare.

According to the Orlando Sentinel, there is a backlog of more than 12,000 people who have petitioned to have their voting rights restored. But Republican Gov. Rick Scott only hears between 50 and 75 cases each year and grants rights to about half.

With more than 1.5 million felons in Florida banned from the ballot box, about 10 percent of the state's adult population can't vote, giving it the highest percentage of disenfranchisement in the country.

The state's black population is especially impacted, with 21 percent of black adults unable to vote because of felony convictions.

Meade, who is a former felon who went on to graduate from Florida International University College of Law after being released from prison, said to give people their right to vote after serving their time is "people over politics."

"Once a person pays their debt and pays in full, they shouldn't have to pay another thing," he said.

The amendment will still face a significant hurdle in November as Florida amendments need 60 percent of the vote to pass.