Amendment 4 Leader Not Granted Pardon But Can Still Vote; Announces Aid To Help Restore Other Voters

From the Florida Phoenix:

By Laura Cassels
September 23, 2020

Desmond Meade, who launched Florida’s felon voting-rights restoration movement, did not walk away from Wednesday’s clemency hearing with a pardon for past crimes, but he will still be voting this fall, he said. And he will help other ex-felons become eligible to vote, too.

“I’m OK because I can still vote. I am a registered voter, and I will be voting in this election and in many elections to come,” Meade said live on Twitter after the Florida clemency board did not grant his petition for a pardon but “took it under advisement” for future action.

Meade’s Twitter feed said: “Today I appeared before the Fl gov for a pardon .. didn’t leave with one.”

Because Florida voters approved Amendment 4 in 2018 restoring voting rights to felons after they complete their sentences, Meade is eligible and registered to vote.

“I can still vote because of Amendment 4,” Meade said. “We knew Florida’s clemency system was broken.”

Meade then announced he personally was granted a $75,000 award from a source he did not name which he will donate to the Florida Rights Restoration Coalition to help pay off fines and fees standing in the way of certain felons voting this fall.

He urged viewers to donate to the fund as well, so that ex-felons who could vote if not for unpaid debts related to their crimes will be able to pay off those debts and vote on Nov 3.

More to come.

This story was originally published by the Florida Phoenix. For more stories from the Florida Phoenix, visit FloridaPhoenix.com.