a new resolution in the joint house of florida would allow felons the right to vote three years after their sentence is up. sponsored by rep. al jacquet of west palm beach, the resolution, would, if passed on the next general election (or a special election specifically for this) ballot, amend the statutes on voting to extend the right to felons.
in 2016, a previous resolution failed to make it on the ballot due to not getting the required number of signatures. florida rights coalition president desmond meade spearheaded the movement. the statutes say no person convicted of a felony or deemed mentally incompetent shall be allowed to vote or hold office until those rights are restored.
the new, added portion says, "however, a person convicted of a felony shall be automatically qualified to vote three years after the person completes his or her sentence." florida is one of three states, along with iowa and kentucky, which don't allow felons voting rights. florida has 1.7 million felons - more than 25% of the nation's felony population - who can't vote.
a proposed amendment by the floridians for a fair democracy group expands the resolution by rep. jacquet. their group proposes felons, except for murderers and sex offenders, will have their voting rights immediately restored after they complete prison and probation. this month, the florida supreme court will hear arguments to legalize this initiative.
i am
- mark j. tuggle
- harlem, usa
- same-gender-loving contemporary descendant of enslaved africans. community activist, feminist, health educator, independent filmmaker, mentor, playwright, poet & spiritual being. featured at, in & on africana.com, afrikan poetry theatre, angel herald, bejata dot com, bet tonight with tavis smiley, blacklight online, black noir, brooklyn moon cafe, gmhc's barbershop, klmo-fm, lgbt community services center, longmoor productions, nuyorican poets cafe, our corner, poz, pulse, rolling out new york, rush arts gallery, saint veronica's church, schomburg center for research in black culture, sexplorations, the citizen, the new york times, the soundz bar, the trenton times, the village voice, upn news, uzuri, venus, vibe, wbai-fm, wnyc-fm & wqht-fm. volunteered with adodi, bailey house, inc., black men's xchange-new york, colorofchange.org, drug policy alliance, east harlem tutorial program, imagenation film & music festival, presente.org, save darfur coalition, the enough project, the osborne association, the sledge group & your black world. worked on films with maurice jamal & heather murphy. writing student of phil bertelsen & ed bullins. mjt975@msn.com.
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