November 5, 2020 – Some Floridians headed to the polls for the first time this year for numerous reasons. In some cases, they just turned 18 and were eager to cast their ballot. Others are returning citizens with their voting rights restored thanks to the passage of Amendment 4

November 4, 2020 – In Hillsborough County, more than $2.5 million was paid to clear court fines and fees for nearly 2,000 people with felony convictions.

November 3, 2020 – Local labor organizer Charlie Delgado returned to an apartment complex in “the slums of Miami” looking for a voter named Robert. He had an important message to deliver: Robert’s fines related to a past felony conviction had been paid off, and, unbeknownst to him, Robert could vote in this year’s election. 

November 3, 2020 – Two years ago more than 64% of Florida voters passed an amendment to the state constitution that would restore voting rights to more than 1.5 million former felons, however, a majority of people who have completed their sentences will still not be able to vote in the 2020 Presidential Election.

November 3, 2020 – LeBron James aided an effort to pay court fines and fees for nearly 13,000 Florida felons in recent months, per The Tampa Bay Times‘ Lawrence Mower and Langston Taylor.

November 2, 2020 – On Monday, Billy Strings debuted video of his performance of “Watch It Fall” recorded for the Florida Rights Restoration Coalition. Founded in 2011, the FRRC is committed to the restoration of basic civil rights for millions of returning citizens (formerly convicted persons) in Florida.

November 2, 2020 – Outside a polling station in Palmetto, Florida, 48-year-old Mike Horne is making a call to arms. “All you former felons come out and vote,” he says, gesturing to his viewers on social media.

November 2, 2020 – The multimillion-dollar effort by Michael Bloomberg, LeBron James and other celebrities to pay off lingering court fines and fees for Florida felons (returning citizens) could make almost 13,000 of them eligible to vote in Tuesday’s election, an analysis by the Tampa Bay Times/Miami Herald and ProPublica found.

November 1, 2020 – For former felons (returning citizens) in Florida, this election is a milestone. Many of them are casting ballots for the very first time, after the state overwhelmingly passed Amendment 4, restoring their voting rights.

October 30, 2020 – Less than two weeks before voters will decide whether to elect her as state attorney for Orange and Osceola counties, Monique Worrell was hired earlier this month by the woman she’s seeking to replace, Aramis Ayala.

October 30, 2020 – Kemba Smith Pradia knows firsthand what it’s like to be denied the right to vote. 

October 30, 2020 – When Carol “Tee” Burgess made her way into the Belle Glade Library on Tuesday, she told those around her it was the first time she was able to vote in a presidential election in more than two decades.

October 30, 2020 – The Florida Rights Restoration Coalition brings its #FreeTheVote bus tour to Sarasota’s Newtown Estates Park, located at Newtown Blvd., Friday at 4:30 p.m.

October 30, 2020 – While both presidential candidates made their way across Tampa today, so did a bus tour designed to get people to the polls. The Florida Rights Restoration Coalition (FRRC) put a bus on the streets in Tampa Thursday to encourage people to vote.

October 29, 2020 – Systemic racism in voting has existed since the beginning of voting in this country. Today, millions of Black Americans can’t vote because of past convictions.

October 28, 2020 – Black Americans could decide the 2020 presidential election, particularly in key battleground states like Wisconsin and Florida. The battle for the White House approaches as Black Americans face the brunt of an unprecedented national crisis – one in 1,000 have died of the virus and African Americans are twice as likely to have lost a job.

October 28, 2020 – LeBron James spearheaded an effort that created an organization to engage the Black community on voting issues. Now, just days before the 2020 presidential election, James is using his platform for one last push of voters during an in-depth interview with former president Barack Obama.

October 27, 2020 – A coalition stopped by north central Florida to engage with the community about the power of the vote this election. The Voting Rights Bus Tour made a stop to the Supervisor of Elections Office in Gainesville Tuesday afternoon.

October 27, 2020 – Well, we are exactly one week out from the end of the election season. But we are in a whole new voting world, and at this point, more than 60 million people have already voted either at the polls or with mail-in ballots, which is the most votes ever cast before an election day.

October 27, 2020 – The sticker on Yraida Guanipa’s sweater exclaimed “I VOTED!”, a badge of honor for her and many other ex-convicts (returning citizens) in Florida who have won back their right to cast a ballot for America’s next president.

October 26, 2020 – One evening when Marquis McKenzie was in high school in Orlando, he jumped out of a car and robbed a stranger with a .38-caliber revolver. Though he was just 15, he was charged as an adult and convicted of armed robbery, a felony in Florida, where he served two years in prison.

October 26, 2020 – On Oct. 24, a “Free the Vote” rally was held at the New Smyrna Beach Regional Library at 1001 S. Dixie Highway. The event consisted of free food, music, prizes, and voting at the library, which is an early voting polling site. 

October 26, 2020 – The recent Federal Appeals Court decision on Amendment 4 reinstating the payment of court fees and costs in order to have one’s voting privileges restored has many people wondering, “What is Next”?

October 26, 2020 – The Florida Rights Restoration Coalition hosts Free the Vote march. A march to the polls consisting of community members, convicted felons, and returning citizens, who cast their ballots for the first time since the passing of Amendment 4.

October 25, 2020 –  Ladron Porter couldn’t wait until Election Day. “I’m a returning citizen,” Porter told News Channel 8’s Justin Schecker. “I just did five years incarcerated.” On National Early Voting Day, the 32-year-old voted for the first time at the C. Blythe Andrews Library in Tampa.

October 24, 2020 – The Florida Rights Restoration Coalition rallied in Tallahassee and Quincy today to encourage felons (returning citizens) to vote. Outside the Tabernacle Missionary Baptist Church, Florida Rights Restoration Coalition members set up big white tents, unfolded tables, and got a generator running. They’re preparing for a rally.

October 24, 2020 – Hundreds gathered today at the “Free to Vote” Rally and March to the Polls event organized by the Florida Rights Restoration Coalition. The organizers hoped to encourage members of Alachua County, especially those who have been incarcerated, to get out and vote.

October 24, 2020 –  For the first time in history, Floridians with past felony convictions are voting in a general election. People with past convictions, also known as returning citizens made sure the world knew they would speak up.

October 22, 2020 – Let me start out by stating I am neither a Republican or Democrat. I am an independent voter. However, I am very concerned about the efforts of the Republican Party to suppress the constitutional right of American citizens to vote. As an example lets look at our home state of Florida.

October 21, 2020 – A local organization is going on a bus tour across Florida to urge people to vote in the upcoming election. The Florida Rights Restoration Coalition, a grassroots organization, arrived in Fort Pierce on Wednesday as part of the Free the Vote bus tour.

October 21, 2020 – Florida’s top election official is facing accusations of voter suppression after two last-minute moves critics say will lead to intimidation and confusion.

October 20, 2020 – More than 67,000 people with felony convictions have registered to vote since Florida ended its lifetime ban on felon (returning citizen) disenfranchisement.

October 20, 2020 – There are thousands upon thousands of energized and inspired returning citizens throughout the state that will not be denied, that will be a voice, and will have an impact in determining who wins Florida.

October 19, 2020 – Early voting started in Florida on Monday as this presidential election is the first since Florida voters passed Amendment Four in 2018.

October 19, 2020 – Thousands of felons (returning citizens) are casting their ballot this election for the first time since being incarcerated or charged, but the state isn’t making it easy.

October 17, 2020 – Mass incarceration has fueled Black voter disenfranchisement for decades in the U.S. More than 5 million Americans are unable to vote because of a felony record, and they are disproportionately Black.

October 17, 2020 – Pam Armstrong Escarcega, with the Florida Rights Restoration Coalition, speaks to the crowd at the “March for Justice” rally on the downtown square in Ocala, Florida, Saturday, October 17, 2020.

October 15, 2020 – Florida will seek to push former felons (returning citizens) from voter rolls if they have outstanding court debts, a surprise, late-hour move that comes after more than 2 million people already have voted in the presidential battleground.

October 15, 2020 – In 1776, 56 men signed a document stating that “All men are created equal,” but in reality, they have not always been treated as such when it comes to voting. In terms of voting, being able to express your opinion at the ballot box has not always been a right, but rather a privilege.

October 14, 2020 – The Florida Rights Restoration is rolling through Big Bend counties helping ex-convicts (returning citizens) prepare for voting. The bus tour brought education rights into Tallahassee and Gadsden County, from letting people know how they can vote to and helping them pay off their fines and fees.

October 14, 2020 – Voters will be marching to the polls in Fort Myers, and many of them will be casting their ballots for the first time. A non-profit that advocates for people with past felony convictions is hosting a “Free The Vote” rally in 10 days.

October 12, 2020 – Two different paths led Ernest Johnson and Ronnie Reddish down the same road. Just a few weeks from Election Day, the two men met at a park in Tampa, Florida, to talk life, liberty and voting rights as a former felon (returning citizen).

October 11, 2020 – Florida was supposed to see hundreds of thousands of formerly banned voters at the polls this election. Two years ago, voters there approved restoring voting rights to people with past felony convictions, nearly a million and a half of them.

October 8, 2020 – Tallahassee has been in hand-wringing harrumphing high dudgeon of late over the prospect that former convicted felons (returning citizens) might possibly be able to cast a ballot in the November election.

October 8, 2020 – Sports and social activism have long gone hand-in-hand: Often in America’s history, the field or the court has been a more level playing field for Black Americans than in civil rights, housing, justice and government.

October 7, 2020 -The Florida Rights Restoration Coalition plans to hand out 1 million masks at polling locations across the state before the November general election.

October 7, 2020 – The Florida Rights Restoration Coalition (FRRC) is a grassroots membership organization run by returning citizens who are dedicated to ending the disenfranchisement and discrimination against people with convictions, and creating a more comprehensive and humane reentry system that will enhance successful reentry, reduce recidivism, and increase public safety. 

October 6, 2020 – Following a federal court ruling, a statewide nonprofit has received a surge in donations to help convicted felons (returning citizens) have their voting rights restored in Florida.

October 6, 2020 – Redemption is a subject that Michael Vick is intimately aware of. Indeed, it is a concept that many of us feel is every person’s right. After all, salvation is a pillar of the western world’s concept of spirituality.

October 6, 2020 – Davion and Maria have paid their debt to society by serving prison sentences in the US state of Florida, but they’re still paying back monetary debts from their cases – and until they do, they won’t be allowed to vote.

October 6, 2020 – For the last two years, the Florida Rights Restoration Coalition embarked on a mission to help millions of felons in the state restore their right to vote.

October 6, 2020 – Gerald McDonald feels like he matters now, but it wasn’t always like that. “I just felt like I wasn’t a part of the community, ” explained McDonald.

October 6 – COVID-19 has changed everybody’s way of life, affecting jobs, homes and livelihoods. But now COVID-19 is threatening the heart of American society—free and fair elections. So, what are some ways to get involved with protecting democracy despite the dangers of the pandemic?

October 5, 2020 – Desmond Meade Talks Florida Rights Restoration Coalition, Felon (Returning Citizen) Eligibility + More

October 5, 2020 – In the 2018 election, Florida voters by almost a 30-point margin approved Amendment 4, which reinstated voting rights to an estimated 1.4 million Sunshine State residents who had past felony convictions.

October 5, 2020 -The Florida Rights Restoration Coalition political group paid just over $550,000 in fees, fines, and restitution to give Brevard County felons the right to vote in the 2020 Presidential General Election.

October 4, 2020 – With so much uncertainty surrounding what’s going to happen over the next few weeks, a lot of us are feeling pretty anxious about the upcoming elections.

October 4, 2020 – For Lucas Melton and his team of field organizers, their all-out campaign to register former felons to vote in Florida before the Monday deadline begins with informing them that they are eligible in the first place.

October 4, 2020 – Voters approved a change back in the 2018 election stating that former felons (returning citizens) can now vote for president or in any other election. So this, for many, is the first time they can vote! However, they have to pay off all fines and fees first.

October 2, 2020 – The late John Lewis said, “Democracy is not a state. It is an act, and each generation must do its part to help build what we called the Beloved Community, a nation and world society at peace with itself.”

October 1, 2020 – More than 30 community leaders packed inside a room at The Experience Christian Center Thursday morning to find solutions on how to stop the violence in Orange County.

September 28, 2020 – The battle over felon (returning citizen) voting rights in Florida is getting national attention. In 2018, voters passed Amendment 4 in a landslide. 

September 28, 2020 – Celebrities like Michael Jordan, LeBron James, and Ariana Grande have donated to the Florida Rights Restoration Coalition’s Fines and Fees Fund, according to Executive Director Desmond Meade.

September 27, 2020 – More than 20 years ago, Desmond Meade was convicted of drug dealing and spent three years in prison. For many people in his situation, that starts a cycle of prison, to the streets, and to prison again. Meade, though, beat the odds.

September 26, 2020 – Three-time NBA Champion LeBron James has reportedly partnered with the Florida Rights Restoration Coalition to help formerly incarcerated people vote.

September 25, 2020 – I hold no punches when it comes to delivering a referendum on Michael Bloomberg’s failure to connect with the African American community.

September 25, 2020 – With Florida’s Oct. 5 voter-registration deadline looming, convicted felons (returning citizens) and their advocates are scrambling to clear up outstanding court-related debts or take advantage of special programs so that people who have served their time behind bars can cast ballots in this year’s presidential election.

September 24, 2020 – The Florida Rights Restoration Coalition says it hasn’t even received a donation from Mike Bloomberg, but they are defending the expected $16 million donation to help pay fines and fees for convicted felons (returning citizens) to register to vote as a proper and “righteous” effort.

September 24, 2020 – Desmond Meade graduated from law school, made it onto Time magazine’s list of the 100 most influential people and was at the forefront of a successful crusade to restore voting rights to convicted felons (returning citizens) in Florida.

September 24, 2020 – A rapidly growing movement is urgently scrambling to pay thousands of fines, restitution charges, and legal fees to allow returning citizens or ex-felons in Florida to register to vote and cast ballots in the 2020 elections.

September 24, 2020 – 700,000 citizens who completed prison time and parole in Florida may be ineligible to vote. With only a week until Florida’s bail payment deadline, the New York-based gallery Canada wants to help.

September 22, 2020 –  A group trying to help felons (returning citizens) sign up to vote in Florida says it has raised more than $20 million to pay off outstanding court debts for thousands of former prisoners seeking to register in a battleground state crucial to President Donald Trump’s reelection.

September 21, 2020 – As the November election draws near and demonstrations for racial justice continue to unfold across the country, it is important to remember Black people in the United States are disenfranchised from voting because of previous criminal convictions at four times the rate of all other racial groups combined.

September 19, 2020 – For Jason Morice, restoring his right to vote will be an important step in rebuilding his life as a convicted felon. 

September 19, 2020 – An effort to pay court-ordered costs for felons (returning citizens) who have served their time behind bars is getting a $250,000 boost from MTV, VH1 and Comedy Central, the cable networks announced on Friday.

September 19, 2020 – Today, September 19th, the Florida Rights Restoration Coalition (FRRC) is hosting Voteteenth, a day of action and celebration to advance the modern day struggle for voting rights in America.

September 17, 2020 – The Ad Council, ViacomCBS and other partners are joining forces to launch Vote For Your Life, a nonpartisan national campaign urging young people to vote in this year’s election on Nov. 3.

September 17, 2020 – The general election is less than two months away and reports of voter suppression tactics being used to prevent certain groups from casting their ballots are in full swing.

September 15, 2020 – Florida can require people who have been convicted of a felony to pay all outstanding fines, fees and restitution before they’re allowed to vote, the U.S. Court of Appeals for the 11th Circuit has ruled.

September 14, 2020 – Ex-felons (returning citizens) in Florida are reacting to a federal appellate court ruling that requires all felons (returning citizens) to pay all fines, restitution and legal fees before they can vote again. That ruling reverses a lower court judge’s decision that gave Florida felons (returning citizens) the right to vote regardless of outstanding financial obligations.

September 13, 2020 – Looks like it’s up to the majority of Florida voters to help ex-felons — “returning citizens” — cast a ballot in November. The state’s Republican leaders have long made clear that it’s better for the GOP if ex-felons are denied that chance.

September 13, 2020 – Delivering a victory to Gov. Ron DeSantis, a divided federal appeals court on Friday upheld the constitutionality of a Florida law requiring felons (returning citizens) to complete all financial terms of their sentences — including paying fines, fees, costs and restitution — to be eligible to vote.

September 12, 2020 – Florida felons (returning citizens) must pay all fines, restitution and legal fees before they can regain their right to vote, a federal appellate court ruled Friday in a case that could have broad implications for the November elections.

September 12, 2020 – It’s hard to win a game when the rules were made for you to lose. This is a reality that many athletes are facing as they take on the challenge of helping to bring equality to a nation that has never practiced the principles it preaches.

September 11, 2020 – The 11th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals ruled Friday  that convicted, non-violent felons (returning citizens) in Florida who have completed their sentences cannot exercise their right to vote until they have paid off any owed legal fees, fines or restitution.

September 11, 2020 – As many as 775,000 former felons in Florida will not be able to vote if they haven’t paid back all fines, fees and restitution, a federal appeals court ruled Friday, overturning a lower court’s decision that they could go to the polls this year.

September 11, 2020 – Almost 800,000 Floridians will be affected by the new ruling regarding felons paying fines and fees before voting.

September 11, 2020 – A federal appeals court on Friday ruled that hundreds of thousands of felons in Florida who still owe fines and fees may not register to vote, making it unlikely that they will be able to cast ballots in the upcoming presidential election.

September 11, 2020 – Florida felons must pay all fines, restitution and legal fees before they can regain their right to vote, a federal appellate court ruled Friday.

September 11, 2020 – Felons in Florida can only regain the right to vote once they’ve paid all fines, restitution and legal fees, a federal appellate court ruled Friday, reversing a decision from a lower court that declared Florida’s “pay-to-vote” law unconstitutional. 

September 11, 2020 – As many as 2 million formerly incarcerated felons are poised to regain their voting rights ahead of the November election, an influx that could swing critical elections in states like Florida, Nevada, North Carolina and Iowa.

September 11, 2020 – The Miami Dolphins Social Impact Committee announced a series of initiatives designed to increase voter awareness and engagement throughout South Florida.

September 9, 2020 – Last month Desmond Meade voted for the first time in 30 years, casting a ballot in his home state of Florida. 

September 9, 2020 – In this week’s Central Florida: Beyond the Soundbite podcast: Amendment 4, or better known as the felon voting rights. This topic has been the subject of continued fiery debate.

September 4, 2020 – Rising political star Stacey Abrams of Georgia serves as both interviewee and producer for Liz Garbus and Lisa Cortes’ doc about the struggle to attain and maintain voting rights in America.

September 3, 2020 – The home of the Orlando Magic will be open for early voting this election season as teams around the league try to urge fans and citizens to vote.

September 2, 2020 – With a push from the Orlando Magic, Amway Center is about to become the largest early-voting site in Orange County. And one of the Magic’s tallest players could be welcoming voters as they walk in.

August 2, 2020 – Desmond Meade will not forget the first time he spoke with Orlando Magic Players. When Meade asked them about current events, specifically referring to the deaths of unarmed Black men George Floyd and Ahmaud Arbery, one of the Magic players spoke with utter anguish in his voice and despair on his face.

August 31, 2020 – Another group working on outreach is the Florida Rights Restoration Coalition, which has raised $4 million to cover fees and restitution costs that might keep people from voting. The nonpartisan group so far has donated up to $1,500 each to 3,000 people, according to its president, Desmond Meade.

August 31, 2020 – With the election hanging in the balance, Republican leaders continue a long fight over voting rights. Betty Riddle grew up in Sarasota, Florida, in a segregated neighborhood that people back in the nineteen-sixties called Black Bottom.

August 30, 2020 – Orlando attorney John Morgan and his firm Morgan & Morgan launched a fundraising campaign Monday to help felons regain the right to vote.

August 29, 2020 – If not for systematic voter suppression in 2018, Stacey Abrams might today be the governor of Georgia – and the first Black woman governor in American history.

August 28, 2020 – Philanthropists are assembling significant sums to expand and protect voting rights ahead of an uncertain 2020 election.

August 27, 2020 – LeBron James is doing what he can to bring people to the polls. The NBA star is helping to spearhead a multimillion-dollar effort to recruit poll workers ahead of the election in November. 

August 26, 2020 – Florida taxpayers have spent more than $1.7 million — and are on the hook for hundreds of thousands more — in the state’s defense of a 2019 law requiring felons to pay “legal financial obligations” to be eligible to vote, according to state records.

August 26, 2020 – About 90 minutes before the start of what could be his team’s last game of what’s been arguably the most challenging season in NBA history, Orlando Magic coach Steve Clifford spent some time talking about something not related to basketball.

August 26, 2020 – More Than a Vote partnered last month with teams in Atlanta, Detroit, Milwaukee and Los Angeles to transform arenas into polling sites. The group also donated $100,000 to the Florida Rights Restoration Coalition’s efforts to pay outstanding court debts of former felons so they can register to vote.

August 24, 2020 – Orlando attorney John Morgan and his firm Morgan & Morgan launched a fundraising campaign Monday to help felons regain the right to vote. As part of an effort to help the Florida Rights Restoration Coalition’s Fines and Fees Fund, Morgan announced he will match the first $100,000 in donations to his “Voice for Voters” campaign.

August 19, 2020 – Up against a state legislature that makes it difficult for almost 1.5 million disenfranchised Floridians to register to vote in this swing state, More Than a Vote has helped re-enfranchise a population with donations to Florida Rights Restoration Coalition, the chief voting rights organization.

August 19, 2020 – Attorney Charles Cooper argued Amendment 4, as presented to voters, specifically said the right to vote would be restored after all “all terms of sentence” were completed. “The voters decided that the right to vote of a person who lost it as a consequence of his conviction of a felony should be restored only if he has paid the full debt he owes to society,” he said.

August 19, 2020 – Another shockwave went through Florida’s 9th Judicial Circuit Tuesday as yet another outsider candidate running on a criminal justice reform platform upset the establishment in the race for the State Attorney’s office.

August 19, 2020 –  A federal appeals court on Tuesday spent more than two hours weighing whether to overturn a contentious Florida law restricting felon voting rights, with one judge suggesting that doing so would paradoxically require the court to strike down a public referendum that eliminated the state’s ban on felon voting.

August 18, 2020 – Former convicts in Florida — more than 1 million people — will be allowed to vote in the 2020 elections. The Florida Rights Restoration Coalition is canvassing door to door trying to register voters, despite hurdles from the state’s Republican-controlled legislature.

August 18, 2020 – An attorney representing the state of Florida told a federal appeals court Tuesday the state can legally require felons to fully pay all fines, fees and restitution before allowing them to vote, while attorneys representing some felons argued that constitutes an illegal poll tax and discriminates against the poor.

August 18, 2020 – A hearing was held on Tuesday in the ongoing battle to restore voting rights to Florida’s ex-felons. At the center of the hearing was whether ex-felons should have to pay fines and fees from their conviction before going to the polls. 

August 18, 2020 – A new political action committee created by Amendment 4 backers to support State Attorney candidate Monique Worrell has received more than $2.2 million and spent more than $1.5 million, mostly on television commercials in the Orlando market.

August 17, 2020 – The fight to restore felon voting rights continues in the state of Florida just ahead of the state primary on Tuesday. Two former felons say the state can do more to make sure everyone’s vote counts.

August 17, 2020 – State Sen. Randolph Bracy says he plans to introduce new legislation next session to give families of prisoners better access to health care information during their incarceration.

August 16, 2020 – When Floridians overwhelmingly approved a measure allowing most felons to vote after completing their sentences, many expected Democrats to benefit most from the participation of up to 1.4 million newly eligible voters in this year’s election.

August 14, 2020 – Players Coalition is donating $20,000 towards efforts to restore the right to vote for people with past felony convictions in Florida. The donation will go towards Florida Rights Restoration Coalition‘s (FRRC) Fines and Fees program, which assists returning citizens who have outstanding fees to complete their sentences and become eligible to vote.

August 14, 2020 – Florida voters are heading to the polls Tuesday, August 18 for the primary elections. But hundreds of thousands of felons, who thought they would be able to vote once again, cannot cast their ballots next week. 

August 13, 2020 – The Florida Secretary of State quietly published guidance for people with felon convictions to determine whether they are eligible to register to vote. 

August 13, 2020 – Desmond Meade and Neil Volz are counting down the days to Aug. 18 — it’s the midterm election, and it will be the first time both men have been allowed to vote in decades.

August 13, 2020 – Here’s an unexpected development in the battle over felon voting rights. Nearly two years after voters got rid of the state’s lifetime voting ban for most ex-felons the state has released instructions/guidance/standards on how eligibility works for those covered by Amendment 4.

August 12, 2020 – Desmond Meade and Neil Volz, leaders of the Florida Rights RestorationCoalition that ushered a state constitutional amendment to restore felons’ voting rights in Florida, launched a political committee to support candidates.

August 11, 2020 – August 18 marks the 100th anniversary of the ratification of the 19th Amendment — the largest expansion of the franchise in the country’s history.

August 11, 2020 – This 2020 primary election comes as a first for some voters — as it is in the case of a Southwest Florida man who voted on Tuesday for the very first time.

August 10, 2020 – The Florida Rights Restoration Coalition gathered on Monday to announce that they are have raised $2 million to pay off funds for people with past convictions.

August 7, 2020 – WESH 2 News presents the debate for the state attorney for Florida’s 9th Judicial Circuit. The circuit covers Orange and Osceola counties, more than 2,000 square miles and serves more than 1.3 million residents, making it one of the largest circuits in Florida.

August 6, 2020 – Thursday is the 55th anniversary of the Voting Rights Act. For an update on Florida’s legal battle on restoring voting rights to many ex-prisoners, WMNF spoke with the main proponent of Amendment 4, Desmond Meade.

August 5, 2020 – The Florida Rights Restoration Coalition (FRRC), with legal support from Dēmos, filed an amicus brief at the 11th Circuit in support of the late-May ruling in Jones v. DeSantis, which protects the promise of Amendment 4 by guaranteeing returning citizens can access the ballot—a decision being challenged by Fla. Governor Ron DeSantis in the pending appeal. 

August 4, 2020 – Former convicted felons in Florida – more than 1 million people – will be allowed to vote in the 2020 elections.

July 30, 2020 –  Big basketball names like the Orlando Magic and Los Angeles Lakers star Lebron James are raising awareness and money for ex-felons’ ability to vote.

July 29, 2020 – Volunteers with the League of Women Voters of Florida will begin this week to start contacting about 80,000 former felons who don’t owe any fines and fees to help them get registered to vote.

July 25, 2020 – An organization started by NBA superstar LeBron James and other Black athletes and entertainers announced Friday that it will help Floridians with prior felony convictions register to vote in the November election.

July 24, 2020 – LeBron James’ group More Than A Vote plans to donate $100,000 to help register Florida voters with felony records by paying their court debts and fees. More Than A Vote said it will donate the money to the Florida Rights Restoration Coalition.

July 24, 2020 –  A group founded by NBA superstar LeBron James and other Black athletes and entertainers is stepping into the fight to register Florida voters with felony records, saying it will help pay court debts and fees so they can cast ballots in the November presidential election.

July 22, 2020 – Perhaps it is reasonable to argue that a fine associated with a sentence should be paid and that restitution for a victim should be honored.

July 21, 2020 – The Magic have remained steadfast in their belief that they can use the resumption of the NBA season to amplify their efforts to combat social injustice and inspire others to join them in seeking equality for all.

July 20, 2020 – The U.S. Supreme Court declined to make it easier for convicted felons in Florida to vote if they haven’t paid all their court fines. Critics fighting for the right to vote say requiring payments is a twist on old Jim Crow laws.

July 17, 2020 – A U.S. Supreme Court decision is impacting upcoming elections in Florida. Voters approved Amendment 4 in 2018, restoring voting rights to most felons who finished their sentences. 

July 17, 2020 – A federal judge’s ruling that had expanded the number of felons in Florida who may vote remains on hold following the U.S. Supreme Court’s refusal to intervene on Thursday.

July 17, 2020 –  Neil Volz was previously convicted of a felony crime. He joined a million other Floridians as an eligible voter after Amendment 4 passed in 2018.

July 16, 2020 – The high court refused to weigh in on a federal appeals court decision blocking felons from voting before paying their court fees. The ruling decided in a 6-3 vote has created another obstacle for some felons in Central Florida.

July 16, 2020 – In a blow to voting rights that could have consequences for the presidential election, the U.S. Supreme Court let stand for now a Florida law that restricts the ability of felons to cast ballots at the polls.

July 15, 2020 – Like every mother, I want my children to have the chance to achieve their dreams and accomplish that which their heart desires. My hopes for my children are no different than those of most mothers.

July 15, 2020 – The Florida Rights Restoration Coalition (FRRC) assembled hundreds of motorcycle riders from across the country to “Ride for Racial Justice” in Florida. After the success of their Orlando event, FRRC traveled to different cities throughout the state to raise awareness about police accountability, racial disparities in the criminal legal system and encourage voter participation.

July 14, 2020 – Fox 4 is putting a lot of resources into a new project. We’re joining a number of local organizations to put on the SWFL Virtual Job Fair. And when we asked our anchors and meteorologists to volunteer to help out, Eric Stone had a personal reason to step up.

July 10, 2020 – Kevin Gay, Founder/CEO of Operation New Hope, sat down with Khalil Osiris of the Reflecting Freedom Network and Desmond Meade of Florida Rights Restoration Coalition to discuss the legacy of Nelson Mandela Nelson as part of this year’s Nelson Mandela International Day (#NMID2020).

July 10, 2020 –  With hopes of bringing about social change and ultimately ending racism in Central Florida and beyond, nearly two dozen members of the Orlando Magic  participated in a powerful video asking others seeking equality for all to, “Walk With Us.”

July 9, 2020 – Robert Peoples remembers when African Americans won the right to vote in Alabama back in 1965.

July 8, 2020 – Voting rights advocates scrambled this week to understand the impact of an appeals court decision blocking some Florida felons’ eligibility to participate in elections.

July 8, 2020 – The Florida Rights Restoration Coalition is calling on the governor to enforce more testing inside Florida prisons. On Wednesday, ABC Action News discovered at least one prison, Avon Park Correctional, to be entirely in medical quarantine.

July 8, 2020 – The Orlando Magic arrived Tuesday at Walt Disney World to enter the NBA bubble with some players wearing T-shirts to promote their recently unveiled “Get off the bench and in the game” voting-awareness campaign.

July 4, 2020 – “Unrigged,” by investigative reporter David Daley, is the story of local citizens rising up at the state and local level with ballot initiatives to restore representative democracy across America.

July 4, 2020 – Who would have ever thought that Desmond Meade would also become an NBA coach? But that’s exactly what he’s doing now. He’s coaching the Orlando Magic.

July 3, 2020 – On this week’s program, we took a closer look at voting in Florida and how the election might play out here this fall. 

July 3, 2020 – It remains unclear if hundreds of thousands of Floridians who served their time for non-violent crimes will be able to vote this fall. 

June 30, 2020 – Clifford recently took part in a Zoom call with social justice activist Bryan Stevenson, leaders of the Obama Foundation and Desmond Meade, the Executive Director of the Florida Rights Restoration Coalition who led a successful campaign to restore the voting rights to 1.4 million Floridians with prior felony convictions.

June 30, 2020 – “Last week, Desmond Meade – who I’m sure many of you know from Florida Rights Restoration Coalition – spoke to our group (our players, basketball operations, etc.) and he zeroed in on voting (the importance of voting), which speaks directly to the question that I think most of us have at this time – which is,what can I do to help? Voting is obviously a very important part of that for everybody.”

June 29, 2020 – Voter registration advocates are rushing to register new voters in the run-up to the August primary and November presidential election. In Florida, the effort has been slowed as the state fights a lawsuit over whether felons have to repay fines and fees before they can vote.

June 24, 2020 – Omar Epps’ new short film “Unbreaking America: Justice for Sale” has caught the attention of stars like Kim Kardashian and Jennifer Lawrence for its raw look at prison corruption. In the film, Epps and voting rights activist Desmond Meade are demanding change to the criminal justice system in America.

June 18, 2020 – Jennifer Lawrence has joined Twitter this week — which she formerly vowed to never do — for a good cause: demanding racial justice.

June 18, 2020 – Desmond Meade pumped his fist in the air and Eminem’s “Lose Yourself” blasted from the speakers. Many of the former felons — liberal and conservative, black and white, radical reformers and deplorables alike — who packed this Orlando hotel conference room mouthed the words along with him.

June 16, 2020 – Could hundreds of thousands of former felons in Florida who are now eligible to vote tip the scale in the 2020 presidential election?

June 14, 2020 – Nebula Jackson, 24 of the Florida restoration rights coalition talked with the crowd about registering to vote. A group of about 100 gathered in downtown Tampa to protest against racism and police brutality on Sunday, June 14, 2020 in Tampa.

June 13, 2020 – Thousands gathered in cities and towns across around Central Florida to protest police violence following the killing of George Floyd by a Minneapolis police officer, including hundreds in Sanford, often considered the birthplace of the Black Lives Matter movement.

June 13, 2020 – A large group of motorcyclists hit the road Saturday morning calling for change and to protest police brutality. The Florida Rights Restoration Coalition and Central Florida Motorcycle Council held the “Ride for Racial Justice.”

June 12, 2020 – This weekend, local bikers and motorcyclists are teaming up with the Florida Rights Restoration Coalition to ride out to the Orange County Courthouse. The ‘Ride for Racial Justice” will protest police brutality and highlight the continuing fight over ex-felons’ voting rights in the state of Florida.

June 5 , 2020 – As August’s state primaries and November’s general election near, legal battles continue in Florida over access to the ballot box and the ballots. 

June 4, 2020 – Killer Mike implores white America to confront their own historical oppression of Black people during an appearance of the Late Show With Stephen Colbert. 

June 3, 2020 – In 1991, 14 Los Angeles Police Department (LAPD) police officers brutally beat Rodney King, an African American motorist. Calling what these officers did to King “police brutality” paints a partial picture but is inadequate to explain their impact.

May 29, 2020 – The injustice can’t be much plainer than this: “The state of Florida has adopted a system under which nearly a million otherwise-eligible citizens will be allowed to vote only if they pay an amount of money.”

May 27, 2020 – President Trump tees off at his critics while accusing a famous TV host of murder. Meanwhile, Biden’s unique approach to the campaign trail insults his biggest supporters. And battlelines are drawn over mail-in voting … is it really a Democrat scam to rig the election?!

May 26, 2020 – Florida felons who have completed their prison sentences and parole terms are one step closer to regaining their right to vote after a federal court ruled against a state law that would have denied felons the right to vote until they paid off outstanding fines and court fees.

May 25, 2020 – A federal judge’s ruling on felon voting in Florida was a bombshell. The state can’t stop felons from voting if they’re too poor to pay back court-ordered fees, fines and restitution to victims, U.S. District Judge Robert Hinkle wrote in a ruling issued Sunday.

May 24, 2020 – A federal judge has gutted a Florida state law requiring felons to pay all court fines and fees before they can register to vote, clearing the way for thousands of Floridians to register in time for the November presidential election.

May 16, 2020 – In Florida, people with felony records are fighting to regain their voting rights. But the coronavirus has made that struggle more difficult. NewsHour Weekend’s Ivette Feliciano spoke to Desmond Meade of the Florida Rights Restoration Coalition about what effect the virus has had on their chances of voting in November elections.

May 13, 2020 – The promise of an amendment to Florida’s state constitution seemed huge when it was overwhelmingly approved in November 2018: As many as 1.5 million felons previously barred from casting ballots in the state would soon be able to vote. 

May 9, 2020 – To help combat the spread of COVID-19, the Florida Rights Restoration Coalition partnered with Orlando Commissioner Regina Hill and Onyx Magazine on April 21 to distribute 3,000 masks to Orlando residents. Masks were distributed at the Coalition for the Homeless, the Salvation Army and two apartment complexes.

May 6, 2020 – Leaders from the Florida Rights Restoration Coalition (FRRC) visited the Highlands County and Broward County Jails on Tuesday to donate thousands of protective masks to both facilities in response to recent reports of lack of personal protective equipment (PPE).

May 3, 2020 – A group of former inmates are helping to protect guards and inmates in our community. The Florida Rights Restoration Coalition purchased twelve hundred masks. 

April 28, 2020 – A federal trial began April 27 in Tallahassee concerning the restoration of voting rights for most non-violent former felons in Florida.

April 26, 2020 – A federal court will begin hearing a case on Monday that could decide whether hundreds of thousands of newly enfranchised felons in the key swing state of Florida will be able to vote in November’s election.

April 14, 2020 – When partisan politics take over the policymaking process, it is ultimately the most vulnerable in our society who lose.

April 5, 2020 – In the quest to restore voting rights to the nearly 1.4 million Floridians with prior felony convictions, there is new hope that a class action designation will make that possible.

March 31, 2020 – A federal appellate court on Tuesday rejected Gov. Ron DeSantis’ request to have the court reconsider a ruling that found that Florida felons who have served their time but can’t pay outstanding financial obligations must be allowed to vote.

March 19, 2020 – Desmond Meade, President of the Florida Rights Restoration Coalition, said he was feeling “positive” as he spoke to Colorlines on March 17. 

March 16, 2020 – It’s been 16 months since Floridians voted to restore voting rights for roughly 1.4 million felons who had been permanently banned from casting a ballot by a law passed during the Jim Crow era.

March 12, 2020 – Floridians are next in line to vote this Presidential primary season, with the primaries scheduled for Tuesday, March 17. 

March 11, 2020 – Angie Nixon racked up tons of unpaid overtime to help put Medicaid expansion on the 2020 Florida ballot.

March 9, 2020 – Floridians with past criminal convictions experience significant barriers when entering the workforce. For those pursuing an occupational license, these challenges are more pronounced.

March 9, 2020 – This month’s presidential primary election is the first statewide vote in Florida since the passage of Amendment 4, the 2018 constitutional amendment that aimed to restore the voting rights to an estimated 1.4 million people with felony convictions.

February 25, 2020 – Voting rights activist & Executive Director of the Florida Rights Restoration Coalition Desmond Meade sits down with Ebro int he Morning to discuss the push to make voting rights legal after they complete all terms of their sentence including parole or probation.

February 22, 2020 – Florida’s felon voting rights initiative, known as Amendment 4, scored a big victory Wednesday when a federal appeals court ruled that the Legislature’s effort to limit voting to only felons who have paid off all their court debts was unconstitutional.

February 19, 2020 – A legal and political battle over voting rights in Florida reached another milestone on Wednesday when a federal appeals court ruled that a law limiting the voting rights of people with felony convictions as unconstitutional.

February 19, 2020 – A federal appeals court rocked Florida, the nation’s biggest presidential battleground state, by ruling Wednesday that felons cannot be barred from voting because they failed to pay all fines, fees and restitution stemming from their cases.

February 17, 2020 – Neil Volz two years ago spent his time in Tallahassee hoping to turn returning citizens into registered voters. That mission succeeded — for the most part — with passage of Amendment 4.

January 9, 2020 – One year ago, Florida enacted the biggest expansion of the right to vote in America in a generation.