- As the Presidential Preference Primary in Florida sees a low voter turnout, that's not what's expected in the November Elections.
- Voter Registration is one of a checklist of things the non-partisan group League of Women Voters Tallahassee is doing right now.
- Watch the video to see why about 1.15 million Floridians cannot vote.
BROADCAST TRANSCRIPT:
As the Presidential Preference Primary in Florida sees a low voter turnout, that's not what's expected in the November Elections. Getting high voter turnout takes an aggressive ground game to ensure people are registered.
For the general election here in Leon County especially, we usually have a pretty high turnout compared to the rest of the state," Mark Earley, Leon County Supervisor of Elections said. "So I would not be surprised if we hit around 75%, it could even be up there near 80 percent."
Voter Registration is one of a checklist of things the non-partisan group League of Women Voters Tallahassee is doing right now.
"You can check that you are registered, you can check that your address is current, you can check your party status," Miriam Barfield, LWV Tallahassee Voter Services Co-Chair said.
But there are some demographics and populations of voters who they are focused on.
"We are one of a handful of states that does not restore the right to vote the minute you walk out of prison," Barfield said. "So what we do is we give information to returning citizens about how they can register, how they can see if they've got fees, fees and fines and all the aspects of their citizens have been, you know, finalized so that they can register."
In the 2018 General Election, Florida voters passed an amendment to the Florida Constitution that automatically restored voting rights to felons once they completed all terms of their sentence. But first, they must complete parole, probation, and payment of fines and fees.
"Amendment Four was a really big deal," Earley said. "I think the promise of Amendment Four is really been only partially realized. The reason is because there's so much uncertainty about whether returning citizens or felons who are trying to get registered to vote whether they've completed all the terms of their sentencing."
It's resulted in people across the state being arrested for falsely voting due to their eligibility status being unclear.
According to the Sentencing Project:
About 1.15 million Floridians cannot vote because of a felony conviction.
They say the overwhelming majority of this group, 935,000 Floridians, have completed their sentence but have not yet fully paid court fines, fees, costs, or restitution.
"You can ask the Division of Elections themselves for an advisory opinion whether you fulfilled all of the obligations or you sent in the documents," Earley said. "You can call my office or contact the Division of Elections, and we can help you out."
Before we get to the general election in November. In August there's a primary election for your local elected officials on August 20. The General Election is November 5th.
