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Hi, this is @lmower3, a statehouse reporter in Tallahassee. Earlier this year, data reporter @langstonitaylor and I wondered: How many people with felony convictions have registered to vote under 2018's Amendment 4?
What we learned startled us: https://trib.al/8vGFoOX
Voters approved 2018's Amendment 4 to restore voting rights to Floridians with non-violent felonies.
It was monumental: Florida was the last large state withholding the right from felons — up to 1.4 million of them.
Yet, nobody seems to know how many have registered.
It was monumental: Florida was the last large state withholding the right from felons — up to 1.4 million of them.
Yet, nobody seems to know how many have registered.
The state, which should know, couldn't tell us. Neither could anyone else.
We decided to do our own work, with @propublica, to find out. Using public databases, we quickly came up with a minimum: about 31,400.
That's not the whole picture, but a start. https://www.tampabay.com/news/florida-politics/elections/2020/10/07/florida-ruled-felons-must-pay-to-vote-now-it-doesnt-know-how-many-can/
We decided to do our own work, with @propublica, to find out. Using public databases, we quickly came up with a minimum: about 31,400.
That's not the whole picture, but a start. https://www.tampabay.com/news/florida-politics/elections/2020/10/07/florida-ruled-felons-must-pay-to-vote-now-it-doesnt-know-how-many-can/
It's a small number — just 8% of the felons we looked at registered. But it's enough to decide an election in Florida.
We also noticed Black felons disproportionately benefited from Amendment 4 and made up about half of the 31,400 registered voters.
https://trib.al/8vGFoOX
We also noticed Black felons disproportionately benefited from Amendment 4 and made up about half of the 31,400 registered voters.
https://trib.al/8vGFoOX
When we went deeper, we realized something else: Many former inmates are on the rolls — but they can't vote.
They're not eligible because they owe court fees, fines or restitution.
Under a law Gov. DeSantis signed, about 80 percent of felons can't vote because they owe debts.
They're not eligible because they owe court fees, fines or restitution.
Under a law Gov. DeSantis signed, about 80 percent of felons can't vote because they owe debts.
That’s a big problem for a few reasons.
For one, felons who owe fines/fees aren't allowed to vote, and risk being charged with a felony if they vote knowing they're not eligible.
But there's nothing stopping them, since Florida hasn't removed them from the rolls.
For one, felons who owe fines/fees aren't allowed to vote, and risk being charged with a felony if they vote knowing they're not eligible.
But there's nothing stopping them, since Florida hasn't removed them from the rolls.
Second, if thousands of ineligible voters do cast votes next month, and a race is close enough that those votes could have mattered, it could be a basis for someone to challenge election results.
It's happened before, like in 2017: https://www.jacksonville.com/news/public-safety/2017-05-19/judge-tosses-lawsuit-challenging-putnam-county-sheriff-s-election
It's happened before, like in 2017: https://www.jacksonville.com/news/public-safety/2017-05-19/judge-tosses-lawsuit-challenging-putnam-county-sheriff-s-election
Felons who owe fines/fees aren't the only ones on the rolls who are ineligible to vote.
We also found about 1,200 people on the rolls who are on probation and at least 260 others who are registered sex offenders.
We also found about 1,200 people on the rolls who are on probation and at least 260 others who are registered sex offenders.
2018's Amendment 4 was supposed to be the greatest expansion of civil rights in decades. And many people have gotten back the right to vote.
But it's also caused a lot of uncertainty and fear — keeping many felons from registering. https://www.tampabay.com/news/florida-politics/elections/2020/10/07/florida-ruled-felons-must-pay-to-vote-now-it-doesnt-know-how-many-can/
But it's also caused a lot of uncertainty and fear — keeping many felons from registering. https://www.tampabay.com/news/florida-politics/elections/2020/10/07/florida-ruled-felons-must-pay-to-vote-now-it-doesnt-know-how-many-can/
Thank you for reading. Investigative journalism is one of the most important — and expensive — jobs we do.
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