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   From: sic-em@doj.gov   
      
   The American Civil Liberties Union intends to spend at least $5   
   million on a ballot initiative in Florida aimed at ending felon   
   disenfranchisement.   
      
   The ACLU will back putting a "Voter Restoration Amendment" on   
   Florida's ballot that was first announced four months ago, the   
   Washington Post reports.   
      
   "It's going to be at least [a] $5 million commitment, maybe   
   more," Faiz Shakir, the ACLU's national political director, told   
   the Post. "We'll build through the end of the year, and to get   
   the signatures we need to get on the ballot, we're looking at a   
   million."   
      
   The ACLU will need to collect signatures from eight percent of   
   Florida voters — 766,200 people — in at least 14 of Florida's 27   
   congressional districts. If they reach that threshold, they will   
   need 60 percent of voters to support the measure at the polls in   
   2018.   
      
   Current Florida law prohibits anyone who has been convicted for   
   a felony from voting. The amendment, if passed, would restrict   
   that prohibition to only those currently serving prison terms   
   for felony convictions, with exceptions for those convicted of   
   murder and felony sexual offenses.   
      
   Shakir argued that Florida's felon disenfranchisement is a   
   vestige of America's history of racial discrimination.   
      
   "The origin of this was Reconstruction-era legislators saying:   
   Let's put in a measure to prevent African Americans from   
   voting," he said. "We're coming up on 150 years later, and even   
   after coming out of the system, former felons are deemed to be   
   second-class citizens."   
      
   Florida currently disenfranchises 1.6 million felons, the   
   highest rate in the country, according to the Brennan Center for   
   Justice. For comparison, 5.85 million people were unable to vote   
   in the 2014 midterm elections due to felon disenfranchisement   
   laws.   
      
   http://freebeacon.com/issues/aclu-millions-florida-felons/   
         
      
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