Whitey Ford
08-13-2020, 06:18 PM
‘Words can’t explain how I feel.’ Felons vote for first time since rights restoration.
https://i.imgur.com/NDKDYza.jpg
Deshaun Jones couldn’t sleep Monday night.
Anticipation gnawed at her insides as she went on the internet, researching and evaluating candidates. The very next day the 44-year-old social worker would do something that she hadn’t done in more than a decade: vote.
Jones was among several felons who joined the Circle of Brotherhood, a nonprofit that encourages Black men to be community leaders, in marching to the polls for early voting on Tuesday. The demonstration took place in Brownsville and encouraged everyone in earshot to not take voting for granted.
“For all the women who are coming out of prison, all the women who are in there right now — my vote was for them,” said Jones, donning a homemade shirt that featured her Department of Corrections number on one side and her voter identification number on the other.
This marks the first major election since the passing of Amendment 4 to the Florida Constitution, which restored voting rights for more than one million convicted felons. Voters approved the measure in 2018, but its implementation turned contentious as legislators enacted barriers that limited who could actually cast ballots.
The Florida Rights Restoration Coalition estimates Black Americans encompass about one-third of the felons who had their voting rights restored. Many, like 40-year-old Ijamyn Gray, will vote for their very first time.
https://www.miamiherald.com/news/local/community/miami-dade/article244889897.html
https://i.imgur.com/NDKDYza.jpg
Deshaun Jones couldn’t sleep Monday night.
Anticipation gnawed at her insides as she went on the internet, researching and evaluating candidates. The very next day the 44-year-old social worker would do something that she hadn’t done in more than a decade: vote.
Jones was among several felons who joined the Circle of Brotherhood, a nonprofit that encourages Black men to be community leaders, in marching to the polls for early voting on Tuesday. The demonstration took place in Brownsville and encouraged everyone in earshot to not take voting for granted.
“For all the women who are coming out of prison, all the women who are in there right now — my vote was for them,” said Jones, donning a homemade shirt that featured her Department of Corrections number on one side and her voter identification number on the other.
This marks the first major election since the passing of Amendment 4 to the Florida Constitution, which restored voting rights for more than one million convicted felons. Voters approved the measure in 2018, but its implementation turned contentious as legislators enacted barriers that limited who could actually cast ballots.
The Florida Rights Restoration Coalition estimates Black Americans encompass about one-third of the felons who had their voting rights restored. Many, like 40-year-old Ijamyn Gray, will vote for their very first time.
https://www.miamiherald.com/news/local/community/miami-dade/article244889897.html