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TALLAHASSEE, Fla. – The same Florida voters who put Republican Ron DeSantis in the governor's mansion on Tuesday also passed a constitutional amendment that automatically restores ex-felons' right to vote – something DeSantis had opposed.
While the trainer congressman from the Jacksonville suburbs eked out a 1-point win over Tallahassee Mayor Andrew Gillum, receiving just a hair under 50 percent of the vote, "Amendment 4" received 64 percent approval – comfortably over the 60-percent threshold required for constitutional amendments.
"Said Michelle Sherfield, a Gillum supporter of his election night party at the candidate's alma mater, Florida A & M University. "I can not rationalize how do you go about it?"
"It's a big irony," said Marcia Owens, an environmental scientist who's released her class early Tuesday to attend the Gillum party. "When they announced that the amendment had passed, we said: 'If only we had those votes for this election.'"
Neil Volz, the political director for the Florida Rights Restoration Coalition, said it was not surprising that the people would back GOP nominee for governor.
"This is a movement from people of all walks of life. Republicans, Democrats, independents and people who have no party. It's been that way since the beginning, "he said. "It's no surprise at all to us. We knew that people who supported both governor candidates were going to be supporting Amendment 4. "
Currently, ex-felons wishing to be a member of the board of directors The term of imprisonment and the punishment of a person who has completed their sentence, including probation and speech, with the exception of those convicted of violent sexual offenses and murder.
Gillum, who would have been the first African-American governor of Florida, had a strong proponent of the amendment, which would affect 1.5 million Floridians, a disproportionate percentage of which are black and Latino.
DeSantis had opposed the proposal. "An appallingly high percentage of people who get out of prison as convicted felons re-offend," DeSantis said.
But it was not a major element of his campaign, and voters likely did not see a strong link between the two.
In Pasco County North of Tampa Bay, DeSantis won 57 percent of the vote, while Amendment 4 won 61 percent approval. In all, in only six of the state's 67 counties did the proposal receive less than 50 percent of the vote.
It was not clear that we would have paid DeSantis much mind even if it had been made to a major issue. In 2002, Florida had approved a constitutional amendment requiring schools in schools even though then-Gov. Jeb Bush was energetically campaigning against it. (It was because of this amendment, in fact, that it is better than 60 percent to take effect.)
Longtime Republican consultant Adam Goodman said that Tuesday night again proved the independence of the state's voters when it came to their constitution. "Despite normal law-and-order reservations about ex-felons, Floridians revealed tonight that they are playing fairness as a pillar of freedom," he said.
HuffPost reporter Julia Craven contributed reporting from Tallahassee, Florida, and reporter Sam Levine contributed from New York.
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