In Florida, one of a minority of states that does not automatically restore civil rights once a felon has completed a sentence, more than 13,000 ex-felons may be eligible to vote but don’t know it.

After reviewing 17,604 names of those who had their rights restored, the American Civil Liberties Union said it found 13,517 who were not registered to vote.

Florida parole officials say they have followed protocol in attempting to notify qualified ex-felons that their rights have been restored. In most cases, forwarding addresses were not provided or were incorrect.

In some cases, the agency made “multiple attempts” to make contact, but to no avail, said Tammy Salmon, a parole commission administrative assistant. 

“We are going above and beyond to try to reach these folks,” Salmon said.

READ ON: Thousands of Florida ex-felons may not know they can vote