Florida citizens with felony convictions, except for murder and sex offenses, can register to vote Tuesday, the Department of State said Saturday.
Northeast Florida supervisors of elections in Baker, Clay, Duval, Nassau and St. Johns counties all said last week they are ready to accept voter registrations come Tuesday, which is when Amendment 4 goes into effect. But the process about what happened next wasn’t clear. A state elections official responded to the Times-Union’s earlier questions on Saturday to clarify.
Since Rick Scott took over as governor in 2011, Florida has had some of the strictest disenfranchisement laws in the country, not allowing anyone with a felony conviction to vote unless Scott and the Florida Cabinet individually re-establish a citizen’s rights.
Amendment 4 said that once those convicted of a felony except murder or a sex offense complete all terms of their sentence, including probation, then they should have their right to vote restored.
Duval Supervisor Mike Hogan initially said Thursday that the state had not made it clear what would happen after potential voters turn their registrations into his office, but the Department of State said Saturday that it was clear: once someone turns in a voter registration form, they are registered to vote. They may later be removed from the voter rolls by an elections supervisor if the supervisor is informed by the state that the voter is not eligible to vote. Even in those cases, though, a voter has the right to appeal the decision if the voter thinks it was made in error.
Come Tuesday, all who turn in their voter registration forms with the required information will be registered, according to Sarah Revell with the Department of State.