Bills to clarify whether ex-felons can legally vote advance in Senate
A bill that would require the state of Florida to develop and maintain a centralized database to provide individuals with felony convictions the information to determine whether they are eligible to have their voting rights restored moved through its first committee stop on Monday.
The proposal (SB 132), sponsored by Sen. Tina Polsky, D-Boca Raton, comes more than seven years after Floridians approved a constitutional amendment to restore the voting rights of felons who had completed their sentences. However, the Legislature passed a requirement that they needed to pay off all their financial obligations imposed by a court to fully restore their voting rights.
That legislative measure limited the pool of Floridians who were initially thought to be eligible to vote when the measure was approved by more than 65% of the voters in November 2018. It also create doubt and in some cases resulted in people being arrested after believing that in fact they were eligible to vote.
Polsky’s legislation would require the Florida Commission on Offender Review to create a website no later than July 1, 2029, to provide individuals who have been disqualified from voting based on a felony conviction (other than murder or a felony sexual offense) “clear instructions” about getting their voting rights restored and to register to vote.
https://floridaphoenix.com/2026/01/26/bills-to-clarify-whether-ex-felons-can-legally-vote-advance-in-senate/