Andrew Powell
A new measure could simplify the process for convicted felons to restore their voting rights.
Boca Raton Democratic Sen. Tina Scott Polsky filed the bill (SB 848), which aims to streamline the restoration of voting rights to eligible individuals and to provide clear and accessible information to assist them through the process.
The Florida Commission on Offender Review would be required to develop and maintain a database that contains information for individuals disqualified from voting due to felony convictions, excluding individuals who have been convicted of murder or felony sexual offences.
The database would be required to contain information for individuals — including their name and other identifying information and the remaining length of any term of supervision, such as probation, community control, or parole ordered by the court as part of his or her sentence.
Also required would be any amount of restitution still owed to a victim, remaining fees or fines, the completion status of any other term ordered by a court, and any other information needed to determine whether the individual has met the requirements.
The Department of State, the Department of Corrections, Clerks of the Circuit Courts, County Comptrollers, and the Board of Executive Clemency would be required to provide monthly information held by these entities to the commission.
The Department of Management Services through the Florida Digital Service would provide technical assistance to develop and maintain the database.
The Commission would be required to make the database available to the public via a website by July 1, 2028, and update the database with the required information on a monthly basis. The website would need to contain clear instructions for an eligible individual to have their voting rights restored and to register to vote.
A comprehensive plan would need to be submitted to the Governor, the Senate President and the House Speaker by July 1, 2026.
The plan would need to include information on the government entities that submit data to the Commission, the methods used to collect, centralize, analyze and secure the information included in the database, and descriptions of any infrastructure and services such as software, hardware and information technology services, that would be necessary to create and maintain the database.
Furthermore, the plan would need to include the number of additional employees needed for the Commission to develop the database, the initial cost and the annual cost of database maintenance, the annual appropriation that would be required, any legal authority necessary for its development, and draft legislation to implement the comprehensive plan.
If passed, the bill would take effect July 1.
