Florida Election: How Many Felons Have Registered To Vote After Amendment 4 Passed In 2018?

A little more than 67,000 felons have registered to vote in Florida under Amendment 4, according to a voting rights group -- a smaller tally than the 1.4 million expected. In 2018, Amendment 4 was passed by a ballot initiative and restored voting rights to felons in Florida who completed all terms of their sentence.

“There is no doubt in my mind that there are thousands upon thousands of energized and inspired returning citizens throughout the state that will not be denied, that will be a voice, and will have an impact in determining who wins Florida,” Desmond Meade, the executive director of the Florida Rights Restoration Coalition told reporters Monday.

In June 2019, Republican Gov. Ron DeSantis signed a law that required felons to pay all court fines and fees to be able to vote. State Democrats have said the law "goes against the spirit of the constitutional amendment voters passed.”

Voting rights groups have called the law a “poll tax” and filed lawsuits against it.

“The ability to vote should not be based on the size of one’s bank account,” ACLU Florida legal director Daniel Tilley has said.

Florida, a key swing state with 29 electoral votes, is still expected to see stronger voter turnout and there are already double the number of ballots cast compared to this time in 2016. Florida’s voter registration deadline was on Oct. 5.

Billionaire Michael Bloomberg, who ran for president as a Democrat, has raised millions to pay off the court debts of nearly 32,000 Florida felons so they can vote. President Donald Trump has accused Bloomberg of committing a “serious crime” by helping felons.

Maine and Vermont are two stated that allow felons to vote from prison. Nineteen states allow felons to vote after prison, parole and probation.