The interpretation of “all terms of their sentence” became a flashpoint during this spring’s legislative session as lawmakers struggled to reach consensus on a measure to carry out the amendment.
Elections 2024
Assault Weapons Definition Is Key as Proposed Ban Heads For Floridians’ 2020 Ballot
The proposed constitutional amendment would prohibit “possession of assault weapons, defined as semiautomatic rifles and shotguns capable of holding more than 10 rounds of ammunition at once, either in fixed or detachable magazine…”
No Medicare For All, But Biden’s ‘Incremental’ Health Plan Still Would Be A Heavy Lift
The former vice president has specifically repudiated many of his Democratic rivals’ calls for a “Medicare for All” system and instead sought to build his plan on the ACA’s framework.
Wrestling With New Polling Rules, Flagler District May Close Schools on Both Primary and General Election Days
The Flagler school district may no longer ban campaign workers from soliciting voters on school-based polling places, as it did in the last election, prompting a safety-based consideration of closing all schools on all election days.
Bi-Lingual Elections A Go: Florida Preparing Spanish-Language Ballots Statewide for 2020
The issue has been the subject of a federal lawsuit filed last August, three months before the 2018 general election, by groups representing Spanish-speaking Floridians.
So You Want To Be a Flagler County Judge: Nominating Commission Is Fielding Applicants
The Judicial Nominating Commission for the Seventh Judicial Circuit is taking applications for the newly created Flagler County Judge seat, leaving Gov. Ron DeSantis to make the appointment likely this fall.
Florida GOP Leaders Hedge or Keep Silent Before Disavowing Bigoted Chant at Trump Rally
Florida Republican leaders were mostly silent Thursday when asked about a “Send her back!” chant at a campaign rally for President Donald Trump. But once the president disavowed the chant, some GOP elected officials spoke out against it.
Total Cost of Governor’s Israel Trip: Taxpayers, $131,000. Political Donors: $311,500
While in Jerusalem, members of the delegations stayed at David Citadel, a five-star luxury hotel selected by Enterprise Florida which cost $425 per night.
Florida’s New Poll Tax Will Cost the State $365 Million a Year
A report by the Institute for Policy Studies cites new research illustrating the cost of felony disenfranchisement in Florida, where recidivism is higher and therefore more costly to taxpayers than in states where it’s lower.
Dennis McDonald Now Owes County $70,000 Over Frivolous Case, But Says He Won’t Pay
An administrative law judge is recommending that Dennis McDonald, the former candidate for local office, pay $11,000 to cover the county’s costs in an appeal McDonald had filed against having to pay an earlier judgment of $59,000. So the combined amount he owes is now $70,000.
Some People Wouldn’t Count: How Citizenship Question Could Reshape State Politics
Some districts could get more in-state political power if Florida decides to use voting-age citizens as the basis for drawing districts, rather than total population, including children and immigrants who aren’t citizens.
Group Files Federal Suit Challenging Florida Restrictions on Felons’ Voting Rights Moments After DeSantis Signs New Law
A partisan firestorm erupted in the waning days of this year’s legislative session after Republicans tacked onto the elections package provisions aimed at implementing the voter-approved constitutional amendment that restores the voting rights of felons who have completed their sentences.
Citing Trump’s ‘Contrived’ Reasoning, Supreme Court Blocks Citizenship Question on Census–For Now
The 5-4 decision, however, with Chief Justice John Roberts writing the majority opinion, leaves open the possibility that the Trump Administration could readdress the citizenship question, if it can justify it.
State and Utilities Gang Up Against Proposed Amendment Deregulating Electricity
The proposal, backed by Citizens for Energy Choices, calls for creating “competitive” electricity markets in which customers would have the right to choose electricity providers or to produce their own power.
New Legislation Adds to Early-Voting
Fight on Florida’s College Campuses
A bill Gov. DeSantis is about to sign deals with a variety of elections issues, but a lawsuit is focused on a provision requiring early-voting sites to provide “nonpermitted parking,” which could exclude college campuses.
Denying Voting Rights to Felons Should Be Beneath Us
Who gets to vote should be driven by citizenship, the spirit of the United States Constitution and all America stands for, not by blowhardism and dirty tricks, argues Nancy Smith.
Pete Buttigieg, Ahead of Miami Debate, Says No to Heavy-Handed Immigration Enforcement
Pete Buttigieg says he would set aside politics and work with Republican Gov. Ron DeSantis to fund “good” environmental projects, while expressing his opposition to Florida’s “heavy-handed” approach to federal immigration enforcement and expansion of school voucher-type programs.
Let Prison Inmates Vote
In the era of mass incarceration, forbidding inmate voting, disenfranchising them after release, and counting them as residents where they’re imprisoned are all components of prison gerrymandering.
Janet and Dennis McDonald Agree to Settle Ethics Case for $500 Each, Reflecting Minor Disclosure Violations
School Board member Janet McDonald and her husband Dennis McDonald agreed to settle a three-year-old case with the Florida Commission on Ethics, conceding that they had made minor and unintended violations on their financial disclosure forms.
7 Ballot Proposals To Watch Even as Florida Law Makes Citizens’ Initiatives Harder
Amid the likely changes, petition signatures have continued pouring into the state Division of Elections in recent weeks, with two initiatives ready for Supreme Court review and others nearing that initial threshold.
What Two Florida Counties’ Elections Supervisors Were Hacked by Russians? FBI Won’t Say, Upsetting Lawmakers.
The FBI has maintained there is no evidence that votes or voter information were altered in the hacking. But such assurances have drawn questions.
81% of Voters Reject Denver Initiative That Would Have Given Homeless Camping Rights Anywhere
While supporters said the measure would shield Denver’s estimated 3,445 people experiencing homelessness from unfair citations and arrests, it faced fierce opposition from businesses and environmental and social service organizations.
DeSantis Will Sign Controversial Bill With Conditions on Felons’ Voting Rights
Earlier in the day, the League of Women Voters of Florida held a conference call with reporters urging DeSantis to veto the Amendment 4 implementation bill.
‘Right To Survive’ Initiative: This City Might Give Homeless People the Right to Camp Anywhere
Denver’s ballot Initiative 300, a first-of-its-kind “Right to Survive,” would allow the homeless to camp anywhere on public lands without risk of arrest, If approved supporters aim to copy it elsewhere.
House Passes Controversial Felons’ Voting-Rights Bill, Setting Up Financial Hurdles Before Restoration
The House’s party-line, 71-45 vote drew a rebuke from backers of the amendment, who called the bill “a failure to live up to the bipartisan commitment” demonstrated by the 61 percent of voters who approved Amendment 4.
Abolish the Electoral College
Abolishing the Electoral College would level the playing field. It would ensure that people, not parties or mechanisms, determine who leads the country. Is that so bad? If you’re a Republican, yes.
It’ll Be Harder For Citizens To Get Their Initiatives On the Ballot If House Has Its Way
Petition-gatherers to be registered with the state, ballots would have to include information about contributions raised by amendment sponsors, whether out-of-state petition circulators were used and whether amendments could lead to tax increases.
Renner’s Panel Goes Jekyll and Hyde on Felons, Easing Punishments But Not Voting Rights
The House Judiciary Committee Palm Coast’s Paul Renner chairs on Tuesday passed a crime bill that eases some punishments and makes it easier for felons to reintegrate society but also passed a restrictive interpretation of Amendment 4 and felons’ right to vote.
Senate Panel Advances Bill That Would Require Felons to Pay Fines and Restitution Before Voting
The 3-2 party-line vote followed a hurried 27-minute hearing on the bill, sponsored by Sen. Jeff Brandes, the Pinellas County Republican. Opponents of the bill are pleading to make financial burdens a roadblock to voting.
Felons’ Right To Vote and Paul Renner’s Cynical End Run Around Amendment 4
Paul Renner, Flagler’s GOP representative and future Speaker of the House, is being dishonest and disingenuous in his defense of a bill that would make felons’ right to vote dependent on paying back all financial obligations.
‘That’s Like a Poll Tax’: Senate Bill Would Require All Restitution Paid Before Restoring Voting Right
Dozens of people who traveled to the state Capitol to plead with lawmakers to do nothing or to dramatically scale back House and Senate bills designed to carry out the amendment. Many amendment supporters do not believe the measure requires legislative action.
Voters, In a Constitutional Amendment, May Be Asked Whether To Abolish Constitutional Revision Commission
Proposals moved forward Thursday in the House and Senate, as lawmakers continue to vent frustration with the commission that last year put seven constitutional amendments before voters. All of the amendments passed.
Critics See Jim Crow Poll Taxes In House Plan To Make Felons Pay Up Before Voting
Felons would have to clear up any financial obligations, including court costs, fees and fines, before having their voting rights restored, under a House proposal castigated by critics Tuesday as a modern take on Jim Crow-era poll taxes designed to keep black voters from participating in elections.
If Your Ancestors Took Part in Flagler’s 1920 Election, AAUW Wants To Hear From You
American Association of University Women (AAUW) Flagler wishes to extend an invitation to the descendants of the women of Flagler County who were recognized and listed, by the Flagler Tribune, on October 21, 1920, as “Qualified Voters” for the November 2, 1920 General Election.
Recount Not Necessary: Jan Reeger Officially Wins Bunnell Seat by 2 Votes Over Daisy Henry
The Bunnell Canvassing Board met today to determine whether a provisional ballot might trigger a recount in the race between Jan Reeger Daisy Henry. It did not, as the ballot’s vote went to a third candidate.
Mealy and Belhumeur Keep Seats in Flagler Beach, Reeger and Baxley Win in Bunnell, Newcomer Doug O’Connor Wins Beverly Beach
Jane Mealy and Rick Belhumeur won decisively in Flagler Beach, Jan Reeger won by two votes in Bunnell, incumbent Bill Baxley won by a far larger margin, and in Beverly Beach, newcomer Doug O’Connor unseated one of three incumbents.
In Flagler Beach, Four Candidates for City Commission Reveal Sharp Differences Despite Surface Agreement
Incumbents Jane Mealy and Rick Belhumeur appeared with challengers Paul Eik and Deborah Phillips at a Woman’s Club forum that showed their paper similarities and vast personality differences.
Federal Appeals Court Hammers Florida For Imposing ‘Serious Burden’ on Right To Vote
The 11th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals ruled that a Florida law requiring voters’ signatures on mail-in ballots to match the signatures on file with elections officials imposes “a serious burden on the right to vote.”
Flagler Supervisor of Elections Wants To Know Why You Love Voting: Take the Survey
Flagler County Elections Supervisor Kaiti Lenhart is asking registered voters to take a five-question online survey about why and where they like to vote, grist for further voter outreach in the future.
Renner Wants ‘Objectivity’ To Drive Felons’ Voter Restoration, But Hurdles Are Multiplying
Elections officials could face a Herculean task trying to verify whether people who’ve registered to vote have met all the conditions required to make them eligible to cast ballots.
Starbucks’s Howard Schultz: Another Billionaire Presidential Candidate Who Doesn’t Get It
Privileged candidates from Donald Trump to Howard Schultz don’t have any idea what life is really like for a single parent raising two kids while working and attending night classes.
Report Details Ethics Allegations Against Gillum; His Attorney Calls It ‘Trivial Stuff’
The ethics commission also found probable cause to believe the former mayor “misused his position to accept things of value for himself and others in return for access and influence.”
Florida Ethics Commission Finds Probable Cause Gillum Violated Law in Accepting Gifts
The ethics complaint added to questions that dogged Gillum throughout his gubernatorial campaign about possible ties to an FBI investigation of Tallahassee City Hall.
In Restoration of Felons’ Voting Rights, Meaning of ‘Murder’ Becomes Stumbling Block
A new constitutional amendment grants “automatic” restoration of voting rights to felons who’ve completed their sentence, but it excludes people “convicted of murder or a felony sexual offense.”
Two Incumbents and Two Challengers Running in Flagler Beach’s March Election
The Flagler Beach March 5 election has drawn two incumbents, Jane Mealy and Rick Belhumeur, second-time challenger Paul Eik, and newcomer Deborah Phillips, a business owner in town.
Democrats Are Afraid Of Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez Too. That’s A Good Thing.
Democratic Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez is upsetting fellow Democrats over her support for progressive primary challenges against centrist Democrats. But it’s a sound idea for the party of alleged change.
Bunnell’s Catherine Robinson Yet Again Re-Elected Unopposed, 6 Running For 3 Seats
By the time Catherine Robinson takes the oath of office for her next term, she may face a very different commission, certainly with two new commissioners at the table, and possibly three.
Was Elections Supervisor Brenda Snipes Treated Unfairly? Federal Judge Weighs Due Process
Brenda Snipes’ lawyers accused Gov. Rick Scott of trying to embarrass and humiliate the long-serving elections official. U.S. District Judge Mark Walker is hearing her lawsuit.
2018 Roundup: For Florida, Another Massacre, Another Hurricane, Another Shift To the Right
Florida was struck by a hurricane for the third year in a row, was the site of yet another mass shooting, saw the end of the Supreme Court’s liberal wing and the election of a Donald Trump acolyte as governor.
Broward Elections Supervisor Sues Scott, Calling Suspension ‘Malicious and Politically Motivated’
Suspended Broward County Supervisor of Elections Brenda Snipes has filed a federal lawsuit against Scott and Senate President Bill Galvano as she tries to regain her job.