FRRC led Amendment 4, the constitutional amendment campaign that restored voting rights for 1.4 million people with felony convictions in Florida in 2018.

“Amendment 4 is very clear on who is eligible and who is not eligible to vote. When someone registers to vote, it is the responsibility of the state to determine an individual’s eligibility prior to issuing a voter identification card.

Unfortunately, that is not how the process currently works for people impacted by Amendment 4. That’s why we hope the state starts to invest as much energy, if not more, on the front end of the election process as the
back end of the process. That means fixing the system to prevent situations like this and spending tax dollars to investigate and prosecute Florida citizens. It is less costly and easier to prevent these situations from happening in the first place.

Currently, the state has no statewide database or one-stop system in place to give returning citizens assurances about their voting eligibility and/or flag those who attempt to register to vote by a genuine mistake before penalties
are handed down. Until there is a system in place to assure voter eligibility, we will continue to work with state leaders to improve the system. We believe that anyone who wants to participate in democracy and genuinely believes that they are eligible should not be punished because of the state’s confusing voter system. If Floridians can not rely on the government to verify their eligibility, who can they rely on?”

Desmond Meade, Executive Director, FRRC

Neil Volz, Deputy Director, FRRC