Felon Voting Rights

Plaintiffs are trying to fend off an attempt to end a lawsuit that challenges the way a 2018 constitutional amendment aimed at restoring felons’ voting rights has been carried out.

The lawsuit was filed in April by the League of Women Voters of Florida and the NAACP against Secretary of State Cord Byrd.

There's no easy way for Floridians returning from prison to figure out what's needed to regain their voting rights. And advocates are critical of language set to be added to voter registration cards.

Voting rights groups say Florida’s voter registration form is flawed and it’s leading to people’s arrest. The Florida League of Women Voters and Florida chapter of the NAACP filed suit last week alleging the form violates the National Voter Registration Act.

Democrats say the legislation would curb voter registration efforts, especially for people of color and felons who have completed their sentences.

The arrests of the 20 defendants last August targeted people who were convicted of murder or a felony sexual offense and therefore exempt from a constitutional amendment that restores voting rights to some felons.

Gov. Ron DeSantis made a spectacle of arresting voters with felony convictions. Now, some eligible voters are opting out of midterms even beyond Florida.

He was one of those arrested under Gov. DeSantis' election integrity initiative who had been convicted of either murder or felony sex assault and therefore ineligible under the new rules.

Among the topics on this week's Florida Roundup were reaction to the arrests seen on body camera footage of convicted felons who were accused of voter fraud.

Civil rights groups, including the Florida Rights Restoration Coalition, are demanding a statewide voter verification system, calling out officials’ “outrageous negligence” on the matter.

A report by the Tampa Bay Times and Miami Herald illustrates the confusion that has ensued after the arrests. The deputy director of the Florida Rights Restoration Coalition calls the system "broken."

On gun control, Marco Rubio said Americans have a Second Amendment right to protect themselves, while Val Demings accused Rubio of not doing enough to change laws to prevent mass shootings.