STEVE INSKEEP, HOST:
This is a big day in Florida. Under a measure passed by voters in November, as many as 1.4 million people convicted of felonies in the past are regaining the right to vote. This measure applies only to people who have completed their sentences, including parole and probation. Elections supervisors say they will begin registering former felons today. But some critics, including Florida's new governor, say wait a minute; slow down. NPR's Greg Allen reports.
GREG ALLEN, BYLINE: The referendum passed by voters in November overturned a 150-year-old law that permanently disenfranchised those with felony convictions. Those who served their time could apply for clemency to a board headed by the governor. But the cumbersome process and a multiyear backlog meant that only a small percentage applied. As a result, more than 10 percent of Florida's adult population was not eligible to vote. Desmond Meade, who helped organize the referendum campaign, says that changed November 6.
DESMOND MEADE: On that night, we had over 5.1 million voters that voted yes on Amendment 4. Not one of those votes was based on hate. Not one of those votes was based on fear but rather votes of love.
ALLEN: The amendment automatically restores the right to vote to people with felony convictions after they complete all terms of their sentences, including parole and probation. It doesn't apply to those convicted of murder or a felony sex offense. Under Florida's constitution, it goes into effect today. Neil Volz, another person who helped organize the campaign with the Florida Rights Restoration Coalition, says for him and other former felons who worked for it, it's a day of celebration.
NEIL VOLZ: And at the same time, it's business as usual for the supervisors of elections who are going to have people come in and register to vote.
ALLEN: Election supervisors in Florida's 67 counties say they will register to vote former felons who affirm they fulfilled the terms of their sentences. But some officials see trouble ahead.
PAUL LUX: Clearly there are things we do not know and things that we cannot know until someone provides us better definitions.
ALLEN: Paul Lux is a supervisor of elections in Okaloosa County and president of the State Association of Election Supervisors. He says there are questions about outstanding court costs and restitution judgments. Must those be paid first, and what agency is responsible for checking? Lux says there are also questions about what types of violent crimes and sex offenses are excluded under the law. Eventually, he says, someone will have to provide election supervisors with answers.
LUX: Whether it gets done by legislation, whether it gets done by administrative rule or whether it gets done by the court - at some point, someone is going to have to clarify the process.
ALLEN: When asked about it in December, Florida's new governor, Republican Ron DeSantis, said he believed legislators would need to pass implementing language in a bill that he would sign. That wouldn't be until at least March when the legislature goes back into session. Neil Volz says the amendment voters passed was written clearly and in a way that needs no additional legislation or rulemaking.
VOLZ: We don't think there's any role for politicians in this process. In fact, that was part of the goal of Amendment 4 - was to get elected officials out of the business of picking their own voters.
ALLEN: But even among some longtime activists, there's uncertainty about whether to register to vote today or to wait until the governor and legislators weigh in. Some are worried that signing a voter registration form before the rules are clear could potentially be a criminal offense. Yraida Guanipa is a former felon who's worked for years on this issue, fighting to regain the right to vote. Even she is nervous.
YRAIDA GUANIPA: I talked to my husband. He said you better wait until March; you better wait until what the governor say. But my heart and my pain and my work and my love for democracy is telling me do it (laughter).
ALLEN: Guanipa planned to be outside the elections office in Miami when it opened today - one of the first in line to register to vote. Greg Allen, NPR News, Miami.
(SOUNDBITE OF ATTLAS' "FURTHER")