Felony disenfranchisement in Florida

Felony disenfranchisement in Florida is currently a contentious political issue in Florida. Though the general principle of felony disenfranchisement is not in dispute, the disenfranchisement of people who had been convicted of a felony and have served their sentence — that includes prison, bail and parole — but continue being barred from voting if they have outstanding fines, fees or restitution obligations is in contention. Prior to January 8, 2019, when Amendment 4 came into effect, people convicted of a felony effectively lost their right to vote for life, as it could only be restored by the governor as an act of clemency, which rarely occurred. Florida was one of four states with a lifetime ban, the others being Iowa, Kentucky and Virginia.

On November 6, 2018, 65% of Florida voters approved Amendment 4, which automatically restores the voting rights of people convicted of a felony—except murder or sexual offenses—after the completion of their sentences. In July 2019, however, Republicans in Florida's state legislature enacted Senate bill 7066, which requires ex-felons (who have served their sentences) to pay off all outstanding fines, fees, and restitutions before regaining their right to vote. This law disenfranchised around 774,000 people because of outstanding financial obligations. In May 2020, a federal district court judge found that SB7066 was unconstitutional for those unable to pay, or unable to find out how much they owe, a ruling overturned in September 2020 on appeal. In Florida about 1.6 million people are disenfranchised because of a current or previous felony conviction, over 10% of the voting age citizens, including the 774,000 disenfranchised only because of outstanding financial obligations. Many of these disenfranchised felons are African Americans and presumed, if they were to vote, to be Democratic voters. In late September 2020, former New York City mayor Michael Bloomberg and the Florida Rights Restoration Coalition paid the outstanding fines and fees of around 32,000 felons in Florida to enable them to vote in the 2020 elections.