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In the November mid-term election, Florida voters approved Amendment 4, the Voting Restoration Amendment, a ballot measure amending the state’s constitution to eliminate a provision that permanently removed the voting rights for well over a million state residents convicted of felonies. The new amendment becomes Article VI, sections 4(a) and (b) of the state constitution, in a section dealing with voting disqualifications.
Under the newly approved amendment, Florida residents convicted of a felony can have their voting rights restored after completing all terms of their sentence, including parole or probation. The new amendment explicitly doesn’t apply to persons convicted of murder or felony sexual offenses; they would continue to be permanently barred from voting unless the Governor and Cabinet make a case-by-case determination and vote to restore an applicant’s voting rights.
States can set the qualifications for voting in their elections, subject to restrictions under the U.S. Constitution. Each state differs in its requirements. The most lenient are two New England states (Maine and Vermont) allowing inmates to vote while serving their sentences. Nearly all other states provide additional requirements for voting after conviction for a serious crime. Some of these additional requirements go back almost 200 years. Florida’s constitution had included provisions barring voting by criminals since 1838 when it was still a territory.
The most common additional requirement is that released felons are not re-enfranchised until they have completed all terms of their sentences, such as parole or probation. Until the voters succeeded in repealing and replacing a provision in Florida’s constitution, the state had the most onerous requirement for former felons: a lifetime ban on voting. Exact figures aren’t available, but in 2016, estimates of Florida voters ineligible to vote due to a conviction ran as high as 1.4 million, or about 9.2% of the state’s voting-age residents. Nationwide, approximately 6.1 million persons are estimated to be disenfranchised due to state voting restrictions based on criminal records.
Because of the disproportionate effect of some crimes, particularly drug offenses, it’s estimated Florida’s lifetime ban on ex-felons voting keeps about 17.9% of its voting-age African Americans away from its polling places.
The amendment had widespread bipartisan backing. A Second Chances Campaign grassroots effort made millions of voter canvassing visits, phone calls, and text messages to help the measure’s chief sponsor, Floridians for Fair Democracy, garner over 1.2 million petition signatures to put the measure on this November’s ballot.
The measure drew support from liberal activists like the state chapter of the American Civil Liberties Union and conservative “smart on crime” groups like the Koch Industries-affiliated Freedom Partners. Amendment 4 also drew the most votes of the dozen citizen initiative measures. It was supported by about two-thirds of voters casting a ballot (60% approval was needed to pass).
With the new amendment in place, starting in January, ex-felons who meet its standards will be able to register to vote in Florida. Potential new voters are estimated to be around a million, a number large enough to impact future presidential elections in a major swing state significantly.
Published Nov 15, 2018 by Christopher Zoukis, JD, MBA | Last Updated by Christopher Zoukis, JD, MBA on Feb 16, 2024 at 3:06 am
