The 2020 presidential election is fast approaching. We have so many questions about the polls and exactly how a presidential race works. One of those questions is about felon voting rights, and specifically: "Do citizens who have been convicted of a crime and served their time have the right to vote?"

The answer is ... complicated and different from state to state.

In many U.S. states, a person with a felony conviction loses their right to vote while they’re incarcerated and regain it upon release. In other states, individuals lose their voting rights during incarceration and for a period of time after, typically while the individual is on parole or probation. In only two states, do former felons never lose their constitutional right to vote

Lately, Florida has drawn a lot of national attention because of how large the potential voting bloc could be if all of the people with felony convictions regain their rights. It is a key swing state and has the potential to sway the vote one way or the other.

In 2019, Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis signed a bill into law that broadened the state's definition of a former felon's sentence completion and made it much harder to become an eligible voter. If interpreted incorrectly, voting can put former convicted felons in line for another felony conviction, risk of incarceration, and threaten their entire livelihood.

Our video unravels the complicated laws around felon voting rights, specifically diving into Florida's status and follows the story of former felons looking for answers.

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