Florida residents to vote on felon voter rights initiative
Florida residents are voting on a Constitutional Amendment at the polls today known as the ‘Voting Rights Restoration Initiative.’
There are currently 1.5 million ineligible voters in the Sunshine State who due to felony convictions.
The Initiative seeks to fully restore voting rights to these individuals — except those convicted of murder or sexual assault.
For many residents, they say although they’ve paid a price for their crimes, the lingering effects actions are taking a disproportionate toll.
Demetrius Jifunza is a convicted felon and father of three children who wants to be able to fight for a better future for them by voting.
“When I walk through that front door and I look at my three kids, I can’t fight for them using my voice. I can’t cast a vote for anything. The school board election where my children go, you know, I can’t decide who’s going to be on their school board,” he said.
However; adding more than a million people to the state’s voter system could have broad implications in a state won by President Trump in 2016 by a razor-thin of just over 100 thousand votes.
TOPICS:Felon Voting RightsFloridamidtermsVoter Rights
