Desmond Meade, who in 2018 led the campaign that restored the voting rights to Floridians with felony convictions, is stepping down as executive director of the Florida Rights Restoration Coalition (FRRC), effective Friday.
In a statement, Meade said Thursday that when he incorporated the FRRC in 2011, his goal was “to ensure that directly impacted people had a voice in the decisions sharing their lives, and to challenge the barriers and false narratives that excluded returning citizens from full participation in democracy, education, employment and the economy.
“Together, we built something powerful,” he continued. “From advancing ‘ban the box’ policies and expanding access to housing and education, to responding to crisis during COVID-19 and hurricane seasons, FRRC has confidently shown up for communities across Florida. We helped launch Community Violence Intervention programs that dramatically reduced gun violence, and we led the historic campaign that resulted in the passage of Amendment 4, restoring voting rights to returning citizens and igniting a statewide movement for second chances.”
Nearly 65% of Floridians approved Amendment 4 in November 2018. The constitutional amendment called for automatically restoring the voting rights of all felons who have completed their prison sentences, with the exception of those who committed murder or a sexual felony.
However, it was amended in 2019 Florida by the Republican-led Legislature to define the completion of a sentence to include paying off all fines, fees or restitution owed to a victim. The FRRC filed litigation in federal court in July 2023, alleging the state’s implementation of the amendment was preventing eligible voters from voting and intimidating voters. The FRRC dropped the lawsuit in 2024,
Meade’s involvement leading the Amendment 4 campaign got him named as one of Time magazine’s 100 Most Influential People of 2019.
In his statement, Meade says he is looking forward to spending more time with his family and “embracing the next chapter ahead.”
Florida Phoenix is part of States Newsroom, a nonprofit news network supported by grants and a coalition of donors as a 501c(3) public charity. Contact Michael Moline for questions: info@floridaphoenix.com. Follow Florida Phoenix on Facebook and Twitter.
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