December 4, 2023 — Florida’s quest for voting rights has been a rollercoaster, mixing moments of hope with harsh realities.

November 28, 2023 — Arguing that state and local officials have created a “broken and arbitrary system,” plaintiffs are trying to fend off an attempt to end a lawsuit that challenges the way a 2018 constitutional amendment aimed at restoring felons’ (returning citizens’) voting rights has been carried out.

November 28, 2023 — Today, the United Justice Coalition (UJC) and Roc Nation announced a second wave of acclaimed speakers for its 2nd annual social justice summit on Dec. 1 in New York City at the Javits Center.

November 27, 2023 — In November 2018, 64.5 percent of Florida voters approved a constitutional amendment that would automatically restore voting rights to 1.4 million Floridians weighed down by felony convictions but who had completed the terms of their sentences.

November 20, 2023 — More Orange and Osceola County children are being charged as adults after committing violent crimes. Channel 9 sat down with recently appointed Orange-Osceola State Attorney Andrew Bain to ask what led to the change.

November 14, 2023 — Central Florida never runs out of challenges. Fortunately, it also has an ample share of champions. Since 1983, we’ve chosen to honor these local heroes with the selection of Central Floridian of the Year.

November 7, 2023 — While off-year elections like Tuesday’s are often covered with less fanfare, issues surrounding who can vote, how to vote and what voting looks like remain hot-button questions.

November 7, 2023 — Gov. Ron DeSantis’ administration, county clerks of court and elections supervisors want a federal judge to toss out a lawsuit challenging the way a 2018 constitutional amendment aimed at restoring felons’ (returning citizens’) voting rights has been carried out, saying the plaintiffs are seeking an “unprecedented judicial takeover” of voter registration procedures.

November 6, 2023 — This week’s election marks five years since voters passed a constitutional amendment to restore voting rights for some convicted felons (returning citizens).

November 6, 2023 — Monday, the Florida Rights Restoration Coalition will celebrate the fifth anniversary of the passing of Amendment 4.

November 6, 2023 — Instead of a commemoration of the fifth anniversary of a success for democracy, here is a look at how and why Florida Republicans overturned the will of their voters and undermined the intent of Amendment 4.

November 2, 2023 — Gov. Ron DeSantis’ administration, county clerks of court and elections supervisors want a federal judge to toss out a lawsuit challenging the way a 2018 constitutional amendment aimed at restoring felons’ (returning citizens’) voting rights has been carried out, saying the plaintiffs are seeking an “unprecedented judicial takeover” of voter-registration procedures.

October 28, 2023 — In a nation that’s a global outlier in stripping formerly incarcerated people of their voting rights, Virginia does not redeem itself.

October 27, 2023 — Violent crime in the greater Tampa Bay region has decreased over 20% in the past five years.

October 23, 2023 — The funding comes from a DOJ grant secured by Rep. Maxwell Frost, who’s worked with the Biden administration on gun violence initiatives.

October 20, 2023 — The city previously had a ban on outdoor sleeping, but that ordinance required police to issue a warning before making an arrest. The new ordinance eliminates the requirement for a warning.

October 19, 2023 — Marsha Ervin, a 69-year-old Black woman arrested by law enforcement on suspicion of voter fraud.

October 17, 2023 — The charges have been dropped for the 69-year-old Tallahassee woman who was arrested at 3 a.m. last month for alleged voter fraud.

October 6, 2023 — FRRC Executive Director Desmond Meade talks about why the Florida Rights Restoration Coalition (FRRC) filed a major federal lawsuit putting the state on notice about failing to create a centralized database for returning citizens to be able to check their voter eligibility.

October 4, 2023 — When Gov. Ron DeSantis appeared on “Real Time with Bill Maher” on Friday, the host needled him on the state’s actions in going after those voting ineligibly in Florida elections.

October 1, 2023 — Someone I respected invited me to attend what is known as nights for radio. We’ll just call it F up night and F up night is where local business leaders share their professional failing forward stories.

September 22, 2023 — There are an estimated 4.6 million people prevented from participating in the electoral process, according to the Sentencing Project’s 2022 report Locked Out.

September 20, 2023 — The anticipation for the 2023 Nobel Prize is building, as the Norwegian Nobel Committee is set to announce the laureates in October and present the awards on December 10th, following the tradition established by Alfred Nobel’s will.

September 15, 2023 — Equal Ground: ‘We are actively working to hold onto democracy as our state is working actively to weaken the rights we have as Floridians.’

September 11, 2023 — Sept. 10 was designated Desmond Meade Day in 2019 by Orange County Mayor Jerry Demings, who named the day to commemorate all the work Meade has accomplished in the fight the right to vote in Florida.

September 10, 2023 — A new voting rights initiative hopes to help every U.S. citizen have access to democracy. A local group gave back to people in need Sunday while raising awareness about their civil rights.

September 5, 2023 — I had been homeless for several years, but that night I did one thing I’d never done before. I slept on a bus bench in front of a heavily trafficked stop where anyone could drive by. 

September 2, 2023 — In a victory for working people, the U.S. 5th Circuit Court of Appeals decided Aug. 4, by a 2-1 vote, to end Mississippi’s lifetime ban on the right of ex-felons (returning citizens) to vote.  

September 1, 2023 — I want to tell you about paradoxes; statements that are apparently contradictory but where both parts are actually true. 

August 30, 2023 — When MaliVai Washington heard about Saturday’s racist attack − a mass shooting in Jacksonville, Florida − his first thought was: Is it someone I know?

August 29, 2023 — No one may have been more surprised by the decisive moment in last week’s first GOP presidential debate than Desmond Meade.

August 14, 2023 — Voting rights activists and Republican officials across the country are battling over whether felons (returning citizens ) should have their voting privileges restored once they’ve served their punishments.

August 14, 2023 — Voting rights activist and Executive Director of the Florida Rights Restoration Coalition (FRRC) Desmond Meade was awarded the National Association of Criminal Defense Lawyers (NACDL) Champion of Justice Rights Restoration Award at the Association’s Annual Meeting in Chicago.

August 11, 2023 — In a country where wealth and friends in high places can go a long way in making legal problems disappear, John Boyd Rivers has neither of those advantages.

July 30, 2023 — Floridians of every political persuasion who want to vote or help get out the vote in the 2024 elections must navigate a bog of confounding and scary new rules, courtesy of Gov. Ron DeSantis’s administration.

July 28, 2023 — A voting rights group in Florida filed a lawsuit against the rightwing governor and presidential candidate Ron DeSantis, saying his administration created a maze of bureaucratic and sometimes violent obstacles to discourage formerly incarcerated citizens from exercising their right to vote.

July 27, 2023 — Florida’s been busy in the five years since restoring voting rights for felons (returning citizens). It created new hurdles for felons (returning citizens) casting a ballot, mobilized a special elections police force, further empowered prosecutors and made high-profile (if shaky) arrests.

July 25, 2023 — Calling the current system “a national embarrassment,” the group that pushed for a 2018 constitutional amendment designed to restore voting rights to felons (returning citizens) who had completed their sentences has filed a lawsuit in federal court against Gov. Ron DeSantis and other election officials to “realize the promise of Amendment 4.”

July 25, 2023 — Freedom in Florida is just a lot of talk. Government-sanctioned voter suppression — freedom be damned — continues, and two recent developments illustrate just how much of that effort is aimed at discouraging Democrats from voting.

July 24, 2023 — A group of convicted felons (returning citizens), along with Florida’s Rights Restoration Coalition, say Florida’s election officials are having a tough time figuring out who is eligible to vote, and now they’re asking a federal judge to get involved.

July 24, 2023 — The Florida Rights Restoration Coalition (FRRC), which sponsored the voter-approved Amendment 4 in 2018, filed litigation in federal court on July 19, 2023, alleging that the state’s implementation of the amendment is preventing eligible voters from voting and intimidating voters.

July 21, 2023 —  The Florida Rights Restoration Coalition, a voting rights group, and several Florida citizens this week filed a federal lawsuit against Gov. Ron DeSantis and other state officials, alleging they created “a bureaucratic system around the implementation of Amendment 4,” preventing Florida citizens with prior felony convictions from voting.

July 20, 2023 —  A voting rights group is suing Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis, arguing that the GOP presidential candidate violated the Voting Rights Act by intimidating former felons (returning citizens) who attempted to participate in the 2020 election.

July 20, 2023 —  Calling the state a “national embarrassment,” a federal lawsuit filed Wednesday accused Gov. Ron DeSantis and other elected officials of failing “to realize the promise” of a 2018 constitutional amendment aimed at restoring voting rights of felons (returning citizens) who have completed their sentences.

July 19, 2023 —  A Florida voting rights organization filed a lawsuit against Gov. Ron DeSantis (R), members of his administration and dozens of Florida election officials, alleging that the group discriminated against felons (returning citizens) who could vote and created a “climate of intimidation.”

July 19, 2023 —  Calling the current system “a national embarrassment,” the group that pushed for a 2018 constitutional amendment designed to restore voting rights to felons (returning citizens) who had completed their sentences has filed a lawsuit in federal court against Gov. Ron DeSantis and other election officials to “realize the promise of Amendment 4.”

July 19, 2023 —  A new federal lawsuit accuses Florida officials, including Gov. Ron DeSantis, of purposely making it difficult for convicted felons (returning citizens) to determine their voter eligibility, and using the state’s Office of Election Crimes and Security to intimidate, all in violation of the U.S. Constitution and the Voting Rights Act.

July 19, 2023 —  On Wednesday, July 19, the Florida Rights Restoration Coalition and four individuals with former felony convictions filed a federal lawsuit challenging Florida’s onerous and inconsistent system for voting rights restoration as well as the state’s “election police” unit, which arrests people with former felony convictions for accidentally voting when they were not eligible.

July 19, 2023 —  The Florida Rights Restoration Coalition lawsuit says the state put roadblocks in the way of Amendment 4.

July 19, 2023 —  The group that pushed to restore voting rights for most convicted felons (returning citizens) in Florida is suing Gov. Ron DeSantis and local elections officials, contending that the Republican governor and his allies have put in place a byzantine and at times intimidating scheme designed to block people from voting.

July 9, 2023 — In a joint letter, Orlando Congressman Maxwell Alejandro Frost and South Florida Congresswoman Frederica S. Wilson, both Democrats, are urging President Joe Biden to pardon Nobel Peace Prize nominee and Florida Rights Restoration Coalition leader Desmond Meade.

July 4, 2023 — Ask most Americans what the July 4 holiday is about, and they’ll mention things like freedom and liberty. The reality, of course, is that the ideals embodied in the Declaration of Independence, the Constitution and the Bill of Rights have always been a work in progress.

June 30, 2023 — Gov. Ron DeSantis vetoed two criminal justice reform bills that had overwhelming support in the Florida Legislature — and advocates are pointing to his presidential ambitions as the reason why.

June 27, 2023 — Two Florida Democratic members of Congress, Orlando-area freshman Maxwell Frost and Miami-Dade Rep. Frederica S. Wilson, are calling on President Joe Biden to issue a pardon to voting rights activist Desmond Meade.

June 21, 2023 — Florida restored the voting advocate’s civil rights. Will Joe Biden go a step further?

May 30, 2023 — ‘Our vote, our voice, and our time’ — After overcoming addiction and homelessness, Desmond Meade dedicated his life to fighting for formerly incarcerated Floridians.

May 18, 2023 — A bill introduced in the Senate would lift voting restrictions on people with past convictions in federal elections.

May 17, 2023 — BPI is proud to announce Desmond Meade will give the commencement address for the 21st BPI Commencement at Eastern Correctional Facility on June 3rd, 2023, and will earn an Honorary Doctorate of Humane Letters from Bard College.

May 13, 2023 — Not quite five years ago, Florida voters overwhelmingly approved Amendment 4, which “restores the voting rights of Floridians with felony convictions after they complete all terms of their sentence including parole or probation,” excluding those convicted of murder or sexual offenses.

May 8, 2023 — Orange-Osceola State Attorney Monique Worrell is inviting Orlando community members to a public conversation about violence prevention Monday night, from 6 p.m. to 8 p.m. at the Experience Christian Center on Indian Hill Road.

May 4, 2023 — Nearly a million Floridians who have finished prison time for a felony remain disenfranchised despite a 2018 ballot measure that promised to restore their voting rights.

April 29, 2023 — States must make it easier to restore voting rights to former felons (returning citizens), according to a new report that provides evidence that when people who leave prison can vote, they are less likely to commit new crimes.

April 21, 2023 — Ever since the Florida Legislature required felons (returning citizens) to pay court fees after completing their sentences, voting rights groups have requested that the state provide an accessible system for those “returning citizens” to determine their eligibility to vote.

April 19, 2023 — Windermere resident Sheena Meade has received a TED2023 award to continue helping rebuild the lives of people who have been incarcerated and rehabilitated but still have a criminal record.

April 17, 2023 — It was a night we won’t soon forget. On April 13, we gathered in Omaha to celebrate Nebraskans’ daily acts to strengthen democracy.

April 15, 2023 — Here we go again. Like the dogwoods that bloom every spring in Tallahassee, the Legislature’s annual obsession with making it harder to vote has returned — just as we all knew it would.

April 14, 2023 — A new election bill could slow the restoration of voting rights for former felons (returning citizens).

April 11, 2023 — The new elections bill in the Florida Senate would make it more difficult to find out which felons (returning citizens) should have their voting rights restored, concerned elections supervisors say.

April 11, 2023 — New Mexico and Minnesota are the two most recent states to allow people previously convicted of felonies to vote upon leaving prison, following 21 other states. Ten more states are considering similar legislation.

April 7, 2023 — Out on Southwest 8th Street, past the Miccosukee casino, sits Everglades Correctional Institution, the first of what are now four “incentivized” prisons in the Florida Department of Corrections system.

April 6, 2023 — Office of Justice Programs Principal Deputy Assistant Attorney General Amy L. Solomon, Bureau of Justice Assistance Director Karhlton F. Moore and Bureau of Justice Statistics Director Alex Piquero this week joined Assistant Secretary of Education Amy Loyd, corrections officials, current and formerly incarcerated individuals, reentry advocates and leaders from Miami Dade College and the Vera Institute of Justice at an event in Miami, Florida, to commemorate Second Chance Month.

April 4, 2023 — Last week, thousands of people with felony convictions regained the right to vote in New Mexico, the latest in a growing number of states seeking to reintegrate residents into society by allowing them to participate in elections upon leaving prison.

April 3, 2023 — While Florida has seen its last two elections run without any major problems, this marks the third year in a row that legislators have advocated a long line of changes.

March 31, 2023 — Cheyenne Hartshorn, a teacher at Lincoln Northeast High School, is among five Nebraskans who will be honored by Civic Nebraska with Strengthening Democracy Awards.

March 29, 2023 — Last summer, more than a dozen convicted murderers and sex offenders were arrested under a shakedown by the DeSantis administration for allegedly voting illegally. 

March 2, 2023 — More than 650,000 ex-offenders (returning citizens) are released from prison every year, according to the Justice Department, and about two-thirds of people who have been incarcerated are likely to be rearrested within three years of their release.

March 1, 2023 — What is the story we will tell ourselves about America in 2023? After a close midterm election, the headlines reflect a national gridlock over social and economic issues, with stark divisions across race, gender, geography and generation.

February 27, 2023 — The coalition successfully ran an initiative in 2018 which restored voting rights to over a million non-violent felons (returning citizens) in Florida.

February 24, 2023 — More than four years after Amendment 4 was approved by Florida voters, confusion reigns for felons (returning citizens) who have no simple way to find out if they’re eligible to vote.

February 23, 2023 — The Florida Rights Restoration Coalition, which worked to restore felon (returning citizen) voting rights in the state, was nominated for a Nobel Peace Prize.

February 23, 2023 — After Gov. Ron DeSantis signed a hastily-passed bill last week making it easier for statewide prosecutors to go after election crimes, criminal and voting rights advocates question why his administration doesn’t instead try to prevent those crimes from happening in the first place.

February 22, 2023 — Quakers in Britain and America have nominated coalitions in the USA and Kenya for their work in building democracy for the 2023 Nobel Peace Prize.

February 22, 2023 — An FIU alumnus-led organization that successfully worked to restore voting rights to ex-felons (returning citizens) in Florida has been nominated for a Nobel Peace Prize.

February 21, 2023 — The Florida Rights Restoration Coalition, an Orlando group that led the vital campaign to pass Amendment 4 and restore voting rights to more than a million felons (returning citizens) in the Sunshine State, was nominated last week for the Nobel Peace Prize.

February 21, 2023 — The Florida Rights Restoration Coalition has been nominated this year. The winner will be announced later in 2023.

February 21, 2023 — Local voting-rights organization the Florida Rights Restoration Coalition has been nominated for the prestigious Nobel Peace Prize.

February 20, 2023 — The Florida Rights Restoration Coalition, which pushed for the passage of Amendment 4 in Florida, has been nominated this year for a Nobel Peace Prize.

February 18, 2023 — The Florida Rights Restoration Coalition (FRRC) has been nominated for the Nobel Peace Prize.

February 17, 2023 — The Orlando organization that spearheaded the campaign to restore voting rights to felons (returning citizens) in Florida has been nominated for a Nobel Peace Prize.

February 17, 2023 — The Florida Rights Restoration Coalition, who fought to restore voting rights to convicted felons (returning citizens), is nominated for a Nobel Peace Prize.

February 17, 2023 — The group that pushed for the restoration of felon (returning citizen) voting rights in Florida has been nominated for the Nobel Peace Prize.

February 14, 2023 — In recent years, Floridians have approved constitutional amendments ushering in medical marijuana, a $15 minimum wage and restored voting rights for felons (returning citizens).

February 10, 2023 — Civil rights advocates on Friday condemned the Republican-led Florida Legislature for passing another voter suppression bill that far-right Gov. Ron DeSantis, a likely GOP presidential candidate for 2024, is expected to sign into law.

February 9, 2023 — A Florida man on Tuesday was acquitted on charges of illegally voting but convicted of lying on his voter registration application in a closely watched voter fraud case.

February 7, 2023 — A jury trial for a Hillsborough County man accused of illegally voting in the 2020 election is set to begin Tuesday.

January 31, 2023 — Shortly after law enforcement officers started arresting 20 people around the state of Florida for voting illegally in the 2020 election, Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis announced the arrests were the result of an investigation by his newly formed election police.

January 27, 2023 — What is the story we will tell ourselves about America in 2023? After a close midterm election, the headlines reflect a national gridlock over social and economic issues, with stark divisions across race, gender, geography, and generation.

January 12, 2023 — Heavily armed Florida police officers descended on the homes of two men accused of illegally voting and arrested one of them at gunpoint as part of Governor Ron DeSantis’s crackdown on voter fraud, new body-camera footage obtained by the Guardian can reveal.