After a petition was signed by nearly 850,000 Floridians, the decision of whether or not voting rights will be restored to former felons in the state is now in the hands of the people.
It comes in the form of Amendment 4 on the upcoming November ballot. The amendment needs 60 percent of the vote to become law, but that might not be a problem, according to a new bipartisan poll that shows nearly three-quarters of voters support it.
Estimates say, if passed, it could restore rights to nearly 1.5 million ex-felons.
100,000 people had their rights restored under former Gov. Charlie Crist, but automatic restoration ended soon after Gov. Rick Scott took office.
That’s just scratching the surface of the uphill battle to this point, as Neil Volz can surely speak to. Volz is the political director of the Florida Rights Restoration Coalition, and he joins Gulf Coast Live to talk about how Amendment 4 made it to the ballot in the first place.
