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Yo_Mama_Been_Loggin

(107,881 posts) Tue Jan 8, 2019, 10:36 PM Jan 2019

Restoration of voting rights by felons marks shift in Florida

More than 1 million Floridians with felony convictions regained the right to vote on Tuesday, setting in motion a process that carries the potential to reshape elections in the country’s largest and most unpredictable battleground state.

The mass re-enfranchisement of felons who have completed their sentences is the result of Amendment 4, a ballot initiative approved by nearly 65 percent of Florida voters in November that ends a longtime policy requiring felons to petition the state clemency board for their voting rights to be restored.

The move expands the pool of eligible voters in Florida by roughly 1.4 million people — a significant number in a state where elections are often decided by fewer than 100,000 votes — setting off a scramble to register eligible felons.

“We got the amendment passed so now we actually have to get people registered to vote,” Rep. Charlie Crist (D-Fla.), a former governor who in 2007 helped streamline the clemency process, said in an interview Tuesday.

https://thehill.com/homenews/campaign/424443-restoration-of-voting-rights-by-felons-marks-shift-in-florida

4 replies

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Restoration of voting rights by felons marks shift in Florida (Original Post) Yo_Mama_Been_Loggin Jan 2019 OP

florida, in the blue wave, was a rare disaster for dems this year Takket Jan 2019 #1

And we somehow managed to elect a Democratic Secretary of Agriculture. GulfCoast66 Jan 2019 #2

The fiasco in South Florida with ballots left in the post office Blue_true Jan 2019 #4

"where elections are often decided by fewer than 100,000 votes" Jake Stern Jan 2019 #3

Takket

(21,552 posts)

1. florida, in the blue wave, was a rare disaster for dems this year

Reply to Yo_Mama_Been_Loggin (Original post)

Tue Jan 8, 2019, 10:37 PM

Jan 2019

but prop 4 passing was bigger for us than the governorship or senate seat. this could permanently turn it blue

GulfCoast66

(11,949 posts)

2. And we somehow managed to elect a Democratic Secretary of Agriculture.

Reply to Takket (Reply #1)

Tue Jan 8, 2019, 10:45 PM

Jan 2019

One of our 4 constitutional officers.

So a democrat can still win a state wide race.

Blue_true

(31,261 posts)

4. The fiasco in South Florida with ballots left in the post office

Reply to GulfCoast66 (Reply #2)

Wed Jan 9, 2019, 12:06 AM

Jan 2019

And the mess in Broward county did not help our cause. We may have lost 50,000-160,000 vote there alone. I really prefer in person voting and the situation in South Florida convinced me even more that in person voting is the only wise choice in Florida for an able-bodied person right now.

Nikki Fried set herself up well for a Governor run in 4 or 8 years. The Florida AG Comish is a prominent job that has control over a lot of activity in the state.

Jake Stern

(3,145 posts)

3. "where elections are often decided by fewer than 100,000 votes"

Reply to Yo_Mama_Been_Loggin (Original post)

Tue Jan 8, 2019, 11:34 PM

Jan 2019

So all we'd need is to get little over TEN PERCENT of re-enfranchised voters to cast ballots for Dems in order to start sending the right wingers packing!

Let's do this. As massive a GOTV effort as we can muster to get these newly restored citizens to the polls and voting for Team Blue.

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