Voters wait in line at the Supervisor of Elections office in Lauderhill to drop off their absentee ballots Monday
Florida voters will decide this fall if 1.5 million felons will get their voting rights back. The Florida Supreme Court approved the language of the proposed amendment in April after they gathered enough signatures to require a review.
If 60 percent of Florida voters cast a ballot in favor of restoring these rights in November, electoral politics in the state could be reshaped completely since Florida is an important swing state.
Tuesday's announcement represents a major political victory for the Clearwater-based Floridians for a Fair Democracy, the Florida Rights Restoration Coalition and the American Civil Liberties Union, all of which led the ballot initiative.
Floridians for Fair Democracy's Desmond Meade has some personal reasons for supporting the proposal.
In Florida, felons now have their voting rights taken away and can apply to have them restored when they complete their sentence.
Ron Colone: Notes on a super, blue blood moon
Some call this a "blood moon", so for parts of the Earth, it'll be a "super blue blood moon". For the rest of North America, the eclipse will still be in progress when the moon sets.
Neil Diamond Cancels 50th Anniversary Tour After Parkinson's Disease Diagnosis
Some of his biggest early writing successes were The Monkees' hits I'm A Believer and A Little Bit Me, A Little Bit You . Australian promoter Paul Dainty has broken his silence over Neil Diamond's Parkinson's Disease diagnosis.
Angelique Kerber sails into 2018 Australian Open Tennis tournament
Open final, but said she was feeling differently after falling to Kerber in similarly lopsided fashion, 6-1, 6-2. Keys has described being "devastated" following her straight-sets loss to Sloane Stephens in last year's U.S.
"The moment I found out, tears just started streaming down my face", said Meade, an ex-felon who served time for drug and firearm charges and obtained a law degree after his release, referring to the measure's placement on the ballot.
Florida is one of only three states in the country, along with Iowa and Kentucky, to permanently ban felons from voting. The measure wouldn't affect those convicted of murder or sexual offenses, the Sentinel noted.
In all three states, ex-felons can apply to get their rights back. "Restoring a person's ability to vote gives them an opportunity for redemption and a chance to be full members of their community", said Leon County Sheriff Walt McNeil, former Secretary of the Florida Department of Corrections, in a statement.
During his time in office, Gov. Charlie Crist held the record for restoring voting rights to more than 150,000 felons. The second chances amendment only applies to voting. Floridians from all walks of life believe in second chances and, in November, can vote YES on 4 to make sure that Florida law does too.
Recommended News
-
24 January 2018Flash freeze sends Sutton school bus careening down hill
It comes to a stop when the rear of the bus hits a parked auto , which appears to have also been disabled by the icy conditions. The child, whose age was not released, was conscious and alert when first responders arrived, and was taken for evaluation.24 January 2018Patriots open as 5.5-point favorites over Eagles in Super Bowl LII
Eagles match-up on most reselling services, including StubHub , SeatGeek , and VividSeats, start in the $4,500-$5,000 range. The Jags were up ten points in the fourth quarter before Brady went all Brady on them and stole the game./cdn.vox-cdn.com/uploads/chorus_image/image/58431349/899765176.jpg.0.jpg)
24 January 2018Serena Williams named in USA Fed Cup team to play Netherlands
Williams and sister Venus will play for the United States when it opens defense of its Fed Cup crown against the Netherlands in Asheville, North Carolina, on February 10-11. -
24 January 2018Wyoming QB Josh Allen a big fan of Eli Manning's
As far as we know, that makes Allen the only human on earth that wants to play QB for the Browns, which makes him insane. The interview itself was going great and Allen was doing a good job but then he dropped this line.
24 January 2018Knicks' Kyle O'Quinn (calf) out Tuesday against Warriors
But he was right in doing so and I didn't want to get teched up going out, but I did want him to hear what I had to say. To make things worse, the Knicks play at Oracle Arena, which may be the hardest arena to play at while on the road.
24 January 2018Deputies seize 51 pounds of heroin in Rankin County drug bust
According to deputies, the suspects are set to go before Rankin County Court Judge Kent McDaniel for an initial appearance. Rankin County Court Judge Tom Broome ordered the toddler be taken into the custody of Child Protective Services. -
24 January 2018Cary girl, 6, dies days after flu diagnosis
Emily was not vaccinated, although her parents told ABC11 that they plan to vaccinate their two sons. A GoFundMe page has been set up to help the family with funeral and other expenses.
24 January 2018Dylan Farrow Just Called Out Justin Timberlake Over #TimesUp Hypocrisy
He told me to lay on my stomach and play with my brother's electric train set. It wasn't the first time Farrow has called out Timberlake.Selection Of Stars! NBA's 2018 All-Star Starters Are Revealed
Team James goes with Durant, Davis, Harden and DeRozan; Team Curry's starters are Antetokounmpo, Irving, Cousins and Embiid. The NBA All-Star game has become so predictable that the league decided to make a major change this year. -
Cheap Stock Alert on Union Pacific Corporation (NYSE:UNP)
HP Inc. (HPQ) has so far tried but failed to beat the consensus-estimated $0.44, with their earning staying at $0.44 per share. The stock of Union Pacific Corporation (NYSE:UNP) has "Hold" rating given on Thursday, July 20 by RBC Capital Markets.
24 January 2018Price Target Estimates for United Continental Holdings, Inc. (UAL)
After $0.16 actual EPS reported by ConocoPhillips for the previous quarter, Wall Street now forecasts 150.00% EPS growth. Shares of Delta Air Lines Inc DAL.N and American Airlines Group Inc AAL.O also fell more than 5 percent after hours.
24 January 2018Duckworth Would Be First Senator to Give Birth in Office
She was elected to the Senate in 2016 after previously serving two terms in the House of Representatives. On Friday, the prime minister of New Zealand, Jacinda Ardern, announced she is pregnant and due in June.
