JACKSONVILLE, Fla. -- The deadline to register to vote in Florida's primary election is July 30 and there's a familiar name making a push for people to check their voting status: Marissa Alexander.
Alexander has launched a social media campaign called "Vote 4 Me." She served prison time convicted of aggravated assault, which means she currently cannot vote.
Florida is one of four states where convicted felons do not regain the right to vote until a state officer board gives the green light. Convicted felons must wait five or seven years depending on the type of offense after the completion of their sentences to make a request. This way of doing things was ruled unconstitutional by U.S. District Court Judge Mark Walker.
"The process is unfortunate because what happens is there's a clemency board that meets they take on the restoration of rights but they only meet about four times a year,” Alexander said. “So you have a bottleneck with so many applications coming in and it could take up to 15 years before you actually get your rights restored."
On November 6, Floridians will decide what's best as they cast their ballots on Amendment 4. A "yes" vote supports automatically restoring voting rights for people with prior felony convictions like Alexander, with the exception of people convicted of murder or a felony sexual offense.
"I'm re-established, I'm back in society, I'm working,” said Alexander. “I'm productive, I have children and family that I take care of and there are other people that are just like me that I have met. They have their own businesses but we are unable to vote on issues that impact us and our families."
In order to check your voter status or register to vote go to registertovoteflorida.gov.