Florida approves amendment restoring voting rights to ex-felons

Florida has approved a constitutional amendment to restore voting rights to ex-felons who have completed their sentences and were not convicted of murder or felony sexual offenses, Bloomberg and NBC News report.

With 71 percent of precincts reporting, the amendment has the approval of 64 percent of voters, The New York Times reports. It needed at least 60 percent approval to pass.

This means that over one million Floridians will now automatically regain the right to vote, NBC News reports, making the result highly significant for future elections. The measure received bipartisan endorsements, Vox reports, and HuffPost describes this as "one of the most dramatic expansions of the franchise in modern times."

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