Florida will vote on whether to restore voting rights to 1.5 million felons
This November, citizens of Florida will vote on an amendment that would restore voting rights to certain felons. The Associated Press reported Tuesday that the proposal — known as "Yes to 2nd Chances" — would reinstate the right to vote to convicted individuals who did not commit murder or felony sexual crimes. The amendment needed 766,220 signatures to go on the ballot in November and received nearly 800,000 signatures, AP reports.
Amendments need to earn 60 percent of the vote to become law in Florida. If the amendment were to pass, an estimated 1.5 million felons would have their voting rights restored.
Under current Florida law, felons can only get their voting rights back by petitioning Florida's Executive Clemency Board, which consists of the state's attorney general, the state's chief financial officer, the state commissioner of agriculture and consumer services, and Republican Gov. Rick Scott. Over six years, Scott has only re-granted voting rights to 2,500 felons, HuffPost reports.
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