This, regardless of whether said felons were convicted of nonviolent offenses or whether they have otherwise paid their debt to society.
Which is why they are heralding Florida Secretary of State Ken Detzner's announcement that a proposed constitutional amendment granting voting rights to felons who have served their time will be on the November ballot.
The measure, backed by the group Floridians for a Fair Democracy, will be known as Amendment 4, needed 766,200 verified petition signatures, and has at least 799,278.
If approved by 60 percent of Florida voters in the November midterms, it could restore voting rights to some 1.5 million former offenders who have completed their assigned parole or probation, though it would not apply to those convicted of murder or sexual offenses unless the governor and cabinet votes to restore an individual offender's rights, which would occur "on a case by case basis" (read the proposal's full text here.)
The amendment's backers cheered Tuesday's milestone and applauded Floridians for supporting the measure.
“Voters took matters in their own hands to ensure that their fellow Floridians, family members, and friends who’ve made past mistakes, served their time and paid their debts to society are given a second chance and the opportunity to earn back their ability to vote,” said Desmond Meade, Chair of Floridians for a Fair Democracy and spokesperson for Second Chances Florida Campaign.
If it passes, the amendment could have a significant impact on Florida's political landscape. More than 20 percent of the state's adult African-American population is barred from voting due to a felony conviction, and there's a disproportionately high number of minorities that are felons. Erika L. Wood of New York University School of Law's Brennan Center for Justice, called the current status quo a "vestige of Jim Crow."
Many minority populations tend to vote Democrat, so restoring their rights to go to the polls could potentially help swing the state blue.
This article appears in Jan 18-25, 2018.