Amendment 4, the voting restoration amendment on Floridians’ ballot this November, has received the endorsement of the nationwide veterans group VoteVets.
Established in 2006 and backed by more than 500,000 veterans, military family members and their supporters, VoteVets works to support issues that impact veterans and active military members.
In announcing the organization’s support of Amendment 4, Jerry Green, Florida Coordinator for VoteVets, stated, “We believe that when a person has paid their debt in full, they deserve a second chance. That includes the many military veterans who have faced difficulties and had substance abuse or other legal issues after their military service and are now permanently banned from participating in our democracy. VoteVets is proud to support Amendment 4.”
Current Florida law excludes 1.4 million Floridians who have completed the terms of their sentence from voting for life. In the last 5 years, approximately 10,000 military veterans have fully completed their sentence and paid their full debt to society but still can’t vote due to Florida’s broken system. The total number of military veterans in Florida who have lost their eligibility to vote over the decades and are currently unable to vote is much higher.
VoteVets is the latest organization to announce its support of Amendment 4, which has also received the endorsements of Koch Industries backed Freedom Partners, and from Floridians of all walks of life.
Florida is one of only four states with a lifetime ban on voting. Amendment 4 would restore the eligibility to vote to Floridians who have served their time and completed all terms of their sentence as ordered by a judge – including parole, probation, and restitution. The amendment specifically excludes those individuals who have committed murder or a felony sexual offense.
To learn more about the Second Chances Campaign, please visit SecondChancesFL.org.
