In the United States, 6.1 million people have permanently lost their right to vote because of a past felony conviction. Florida accounts for nearly 25 percent, or 1.6 million, of the people who have lost their right to vote. As a result, one in ten Floridians are shut out of our democracy.
Florida’s Voting Restoration Amendment is a proposed ballot iniative that would allow people who’ve paid their debt to society to earn back their right to vote. The Florida Rights Restoration Coalition is working to restore the ability to vote to Floridians with a felony conviction who have lost their ability to vote. The people behind this Amendment are nonpartisan civic and faith organizations working with men and women who’ve served time and are now putting their lives back together.
The coalition is working to collect 600,000 petitions by January 1, 2018, to have this important amendment added to the 2018 ballot.
Restoring a person’s right to vote once they’ve fulfilled their obligations to society gives them an opportunity for redemption and a chance to be full members of their community.
