On November 6, 2018, Florida passed Amendment 4, the Voting Rights Restoration for Felons Initiative, to restore the voting rights of Florida citizens who have a felony conviction on their record immediately after they have served their sentence. Spearheaded by the Florida Rights Restoration Coalition, an estimated 1.4 million formerly disenfranchised people became eligible to vote.

freeamerica and John Legend supported the passage of Amendment 4 and worked to amplify its impact by educating those affected by its decision, helping to register them to vote, and documenting their stories.

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Desmond Meade

Desmond Meade is a formerly incarcerated individual who, because of his disenfranchisement, became a voting rights activist and the Executive Director of the Florida Rights Restoration Coalition.

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Angel Sanchez

In 2017, we sat down with Angel Sanchez. Despite ranking in the top four of his law school class, Angel didn’t have the right to vote or the opportunity to take the Florida bar. He is only one of the individuals affected by Amendment 4.