ELECTION 2020
- PEOPLE
40
FLORIDA’S NEWLY
ENFRANCHISED
CHARACTERISTICS ○ Some of the 1.4 million Floridians with past felony convictions who had their
voting rights restored in 2018—with state-imposed conditions
In2018,Floridavoterspasseda ballotinitiative,Amendment4,thatrestoredvotingrightsto1.4millionresidentswhohad
previouslybeenconvictedofa felony.Itlookedlikea milestoneforvotingrights:Almost1 in5 Blackadultsinthestatewas
unabletocasta ballot.Ifevena portionofthispopulationmadeit tothepolls,it couldalterFloridaelectionoutcomes,
perhapsdecisively.○ ButlastyeartheRepublican-ledstatelegislatureandRepublicanGovernorRonDeSantisteamedupto
passa billunderminingAmendment4 byrequiringex-felonstorepayalloutstandingfinesandjudicialfeestoberegisteredto
vote.Estimatessuggest1 millionex-felons,whocollectivelyoweabout$1billion,couldbebarredfromvotingunlesstheyrepay
theirfines(difficulttodo,sincenocentralstatedatabasetracksdelinquentdebts).Civilrightsgroupscalledthenewlawan
unconstitutional“polltax”andsuedtostopit.InMaya U.S.districtjudgecondemnedFlorida’s“pay-to-votesystem”andruled
thestatecouldn’tprohibitex-felonsfromvoting.ButinJulya federalappealscourthaltedthegroup’svoterregistration,granting
DeSantis’srequest,andweekslatertheU.S.SupremeCourtchosenottointervene.DespiteRepublicanefforts, many ex-felons
should still be able to vote this fall—although no one is sure how many will turn out.�Joshua Green
KEITH IVEY ○ 47 ←
○ JACKSONVILLE ○ self-employed
“I actually have a voter
registration card and was able to
vote in a local election here several
months ago, before the appeal
happened. Then they took my voting
rights away for a second time. I’m
still trying to find out exactly how
much I owe [in fines or fees]. It’s
pay-for-play, pure politics.
“We’re regular people. We’re not
crazed maniacs. Yes, I did serve time.
ButI have a family. I’m a father, a
son, a grandparent now. I want to be
regular again.”