An explanation on felon voting rights for the presidential election

The 2020 presidential election is fast approaching. We have so many questions about the polls and exactly how a presidential race works. One of those questions is about felon voting rights, and specifically: "Do citizens who have been convicted of a crime and served their time have the right to vote?"

The answer is ... complicated and different from state to state.

In many U.S. states, a person with a felony conviction loses their right to vote while they’re incarcerated and regain it upon release. In other states, individuals lose their voting rights during incarceration and for a period of time after, typically while the individual is on parole or probation. In only two states, do former felons never lose their constitutional right to vote

Lately, Florida has drawn a lot of national attention because of how large the potential voting bloc could be if all of the people with felony convictions regain their rights. It is a key swing state and has the potential to sway the vote one way or the other.

In 2019, Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis signed a bill into law that broadened the state's definition of a former felon's sentence completion and made it much harder to become an eligible voter. If interpreted incorrectly, voting can put former convicted felons in line for another felony conviction, risk of incarceration, and threaten their entire livelihood.

Our video unravels the complicated laws around felon voting rights, specifically diving into Florida's status and follows the story of former felons looking for answers.

[lanift]

If you can’t vote you shouldn’t pay taxes

[albertoperalez]

Not everyone that gets a felony case is a bad person. Read that again. Some people may had made 1 bad decision but shouldn't be deemed to lose everything. 😕

[AMYV]

That is weird. You can’t vote if you are a felon That makes no sense. Sure if you are on death row or doing life. But people who have already been released 🤷‍♀️🤷‍♀️🤦‍♀️.
Does anyone know if it’s this way in Canada where I live ?

[MollyT-zkch]

I had my convictions erased and sealed, can I vote now?

[roxanne]

There needs to be some objective standards of responsibility and commitment to our laws that we require people to meet before they are given a role in the solemn enterprise of self-government, which doesn't need to include felons.

[Silent_Shadow]

Can anyone articulate why the law even exists in the first place? I understand why a violent offender can't have weapons. But what is so dangerous about a felon voting? I don't want the law recited. I want to know whats the reasoning and purpose of them being blocked from voting.

[jaeboston]

Sure, why not? These people have paid their debt to society. They continue to be penalized for the rest of their life because of a mistake that have been made during their life. As long as they follow the statutes that have been put in place for them to re-enter Society, again, I ask why not?

[AllStarRealEstateSteveHula]

I know a convicted felon can run for President of the United States but may not be able to vote in the election😂

[evellynbaker]

So it only works only when rich people have been convicted.

[israel]

Who made it to the White House without winning Florida?

[raymondbarrett]

All Americans should be able to vote regardless being a felony or not once your born in America you should be able to vote every America citizen of the legal age to vote should be able to even those in prison 💯💯💯💯💯💯💯

[roxanne]

If you’re not willing to follow the law, then you should not have a role in making the law for everyone else.