TALLAHASSEE, Fla. (WTXL) - Next month, voters will decide if voting rights will be restored for felons.
WTXL's Jada Williams was live Monday morning from St. Paul's United Methodist Church to tell how one Tallahassee minister is making sure the voters are aware of what's at stake before election day.
Michael Dodson and St. Paul's United Methodist Jail and Prison Ministry is hosting a forum Monday to inform the public about everything at stake in Amendment 4.
Amendment 4 would allow felons, other than those convicted of murder or sex crimes, to regain the right to vote without a hearing.
As of right now, nearly one and a half million Floridians can't cast a ballot due to their criminal history.
The Florida Forum On Restoration of Voting Rights Amendment 4 will feature a panel of lawyers, civil rights activists and educators.
Michael Dodson, the organizer and prison and jail minister for St. Paul's, says the current law is all a larger part of Florida's civil right's history.
"The current system owes itself to a scheme that was in response to a number of African Americans being able to vote after Reconstruction," Dodson said. "We see this a leftover of Jim Crow in Florida. That lends itself to being the largest civil rights issue we've ever had to vote for on the Florida ballot."
If you're interested in joining in on the conversation, it starts at 6 p.m. Monday at Sanders Hall.
That's at St. Paul's United Methodist.
Voting for Amendment 4 will be November 6.
