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It was one of the most hopeful outcomes on election night last year. By a margin of nearly two to one — signaling a rare bipartisan consensus — Florida voters approved Amendment 4. It restored voting rights to about 1.5 million people who had previously been convicted of a felony and had completed their sentence.

The result overturned a modern form of mass disenfranchisement. About 10 percent of Florida’s voting-age citizens could not vote because of a past conviction. Among black Floridians, the share was almost 20 percent

But now the story in Florida is looking less hopeful because Republican lawmakers are looking for ways to undermine the amendment.