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Coalition launches “Four for 4” effort, asking four friends, loved ones to go to the polls [1]

['Mitch Perry', 'More From Author', '- November']

Date: 2022-11-03  

Though nearly a million citizens have yet to have their voting rights fully restored four years after Floridians passed Constitutional Amendment 4, an advocacy group is working on a program to get those who still can’t vote to get as many of their friends and neighbors to the polls Nov. 8.

Members of the Florida Rights Restoration Coalition (FRRC) touted their “Four for 4” voting campaign on a Zoom event Wednesday night that calls for those former felons to ask at least four friends and/or loved ones to vote and make a difference for returning citizens across the state.

“This is for people who are voting. This is for people who are not voting,’ said Neil Volz, deputy director for the FRRC. “Go talk to four neighbors. Go talk to people you know. Our voice matters. This is a way to respond to what’s going on.”

More than 64% of Floridians approved Amendment 4 in 2018, which was aimed at allowing most people of the estimated 1.4 million people who had completed their criminal sentences to have their voting rights restored (with the exception of those convicted of murder and sex offenses). In 2019 the Florida Legislature passed a bill that required people to pay all their outstanding legal fines and fees before they can get their right to vote restored – significantly reducing the pool of eligible voters.

A report released last week by the Sentencing Project showed that an estimated 934,500 Floridians who have completed their sentences remain disenfranchised, despite the passage of the 2018 amendment.

“We know that there are people who are part of the movement who aren’t voting this cycle,” said Volz, who says that there are 216,000 former felons who have had their right to vote restored since the passage of Amendment 4.

The FRRC has also set up a bail fund and a legal defense fund following the arrest in August of 20 Florida residents by Gov. Ron DeSantis’ election security office who have been charged with alleged voter fraud.

“We don’t think any of these 20 individuals should be negotiating and potentially pleading out with the state, simply because they’re sitting in trouble, or because they didn’t have counsel,” said Volz. “Some people like to work with the public defenders, others have chosen to work with the attorneys that we’ve helped people get in touch with.”

St. Petersburg Republican State Sen. Jeff Brandes, who was the sponsor of the bill implementing Amendment 4, told the Phoenix last week that it’s his belief that none of those 20 people should have been arrested.

“The key word in there is that if you were going to commit an election fraud crime it had to be willingly,” he said while speaking recently at a criminal justice summit in Tampa. “That ‘willingly’ is a standard that includes knowledge and intent. It doesn’t have to be evil intent, but there has to be some intent.”

The arrests have led some returning citizens who believe they have had their voting rights restored uncertain of whether they should vote. That’s part of what the “Four for 4” campaign is about, organizers say.

“My message to anyone who’s not sure if they can vote, nervous about voting or even scared – don’t,” FRRC organizing director Marquis McKenzie said. “But that doesn’t mean that your vote couldn’t count because you could invite one of your family and friends to go vote on your behalf and I know that it’s a higher chance that they will actually go out if you ask them to vote on your behalf because you can’t go. “

To get involved with Four for 4 campaign, people should text “Doors” at 888-572-3772.

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[1] Url: https://floridaphoenix.com/2022/11/03/coalition-launches-four-for-4-effort-asking-four-friends-loved-ones-to-go-to-the-polls/

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