On Tuesday, Bushell walked out of the Miami-Dade County Supervisor of Elections Office a newly registered voter, one of several formerly incarcerated Floridians to register to vote after the passage of constitutional Amendment 4, which restored voting rights for an estimated 1.2 million felons — as many as 400,000 of those in South Florida, according to a Tampa Bay Times analysis.

“I usually do my part anyway and I transport individuals to the polls whenever I can,” Bushell, 52, said outside the county’s elections office in Doral. “Not being able to do it myself, that’s like a downfall for me. So now that I’m able to do it, now it’s an uplift.”

…Prior to the amendment going into effect, convicted felons were required to seek the restoration of their rights from the state’s clemency board, which has a backlog of about 10,000 cases.

The amendment mandates that the state automatically restore the voting rights for felons who have fulfilled all terms of their sentence, along with any probation or parole. Individuals convicted of murder or a “felony sexual offense” are not eligible under the amendment.

…“There were a lot of tears of joy that were shed. Some of the (supervisors of elections) were crying,” Meade said. “It was just a very emotional day. We were celebrating the expansion of democracy.”

Felons register to vote in Florida. | Miami Herald

hmmm