Simon Ateba Reflects on Florida's Amendment 4: From Supporting Felons' Voting Rights to Trump's Potential Disenfranchisement

In 2018, I flew into Florida with the State Department. They had arranged some meetings with some people. The first set of people were convicted felons who were pushing for an amendment to be able to vote.

In the end, the “Voting Rights Restoration for Felons Initiative,” also known as Amendment 4, was passed during the 2018 Florida election.

The amendment was approved by nearly 65% of Florida voters and was a significant change to the state’s constitution. It restored the voting rights of most felons who had completed their sentences, including prison, parole, and probation, except those convicted of murder or a felony sexual offense.

However, after the amendment passed, Governor Ron DeSantis and the Florida legislature enacted a law in 2019 that required felons to pay all fines, fees, and restitution associated with their sentences before their voting rights could be restored.

That law has been viewed by many as a significant restriction on the amendment, effectively limiting the number of felons who could regain their voting rights. The law was challenged in court, but the conservative justices of the U.S. Supreme Court allowed it to remain in effect while legal challenges continued.

Donald Trump, who was president at the time, expressed support for the Florida law that required felons to pay all fines, fees, and restitution before regaining their voting rights.

Trump and some other Republicans argued that the law was necessary to ensure that felons fully completed their sentences, including financial obligations, before being allowed to vote. Critics of the law, however, saw it as a form of a “poll tax” that disproportionately affected low-income individuals and minorities, potentially disenfranchising a large number of people who had regained their voting rights under Amendment 4.

Trump’s support of the law was consistent with his broader stance on election security and voter eligibility, which often emphasized stricter regulations around voting.

Now, in just nine days, on September 4, if Judge Juan Merchan does not overturn Trump’s conviction by a jury in New York, as a convicted felon and a Florida resident, Trump will not be able to vote in his own election. Merchan will then decide whether to sentence Trump to prison or impose probation on September 18. As a first-time offender, Trump will most likely get probation. Trump has requested that the sentencing take place after the election, and Manhattan District Attorney Alvin Bragg told the court he is not opposed to a sentencing delay, leaving the final decision to the judge. We don’t know what that decision will be.

On that day in 2018, as I sat in the room with convicted felons who had completed their sentences, they told us that the law was originally meant to target nonwhite people and asked if any of us had gone to the beach. We all said yes. They then explained what could be considered a felony in Florida at the beach, such as harassing a sea animal, including sea turtles or stingrays. You could also be convicted of a felony for trespassing or driving in the wrong place or on the wrong street. The law was so strict and pervasive that it began to affect many white voters as well. I flew back to DC, but I have never forgotten the looks on their faces. They were ordinary people with no big name recognition, no money, no fame, and they were fighting for convicted criminals to be able to vote since they were required to pay taxes.

Journalism sometimes takes you to places you do not expect and changes your perspective on life completely. May God help us!