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Right to bear arms.
The picture compares different countries to the amount of firearms per 100 people.

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Search and seizure.
The article represents how rights advocates start turning to Amendment 4 for alternatives.

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As Gov. Rick Scott's Cabinet meets for its last clemency board meeting before the state's general election, the conversation surrounding felon voting rights is ramping up. One amendment on the ballot could put a new restoration system in place.

In the last few months, a federal district judge declared the state's system "unconstitutional," taking issue with the discretion it leaves the Governor's cabinet to grant clemency. Judge Mark Walker ordered an overhaul. But a higher court granted a stay on the decision, leaving change uncertain in the meantime. Amendment 4, which made its way to the ballot by way of citizens' initiative, could change all that. It would automatically restore voting rights for the state's felons.

In April, Democratic gubernatorial candidate Andrew Gillum spoke at a rally for Amendment 4, alongside Al Sharpton.

"We have a chance November 6, to restore that right - that opportunity, and dignity, for all Floridians," Gillum told a crowd outside the State Capitol.

Calls for an overhaul of Florida's current voting rights restoration system are not new to Floridians. They are, however, garnering attention at the national level. Comedian John Oliver hosts HBO's Last Week Tonight. He implored Florida voters in his most recent episode to support Amendment 4.

"This November Florida, you've got a real chance to remedy a mistake, and do something genuinely good for over a million of your citizens," Oliver said.

At its last meeting before the November election, the issue of people with a felony in their past voting illegally came up several times with applicants. Some say they did so unwittingly, like Scott Friedman in this exchange with Agriculture Commissioner Adam Putnam:

Putnam: "Why did you vote illegally twelve times?"

Friedman: "I shouldn't answer because I thought y'all might need my vote. I shouldn't answer that."

Putnam: "I wouldn't recommend it.

Friedman: "Then I won't. I didn't know I was voting illegally."

The next meeting of the board will be Dec. 5.

Copyright 2018 WFSU. To see more, visit WFSU.

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Felon Voting Rights Advocates Turn To Amendment 4 For Recourse

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As Gov. Rick Scott's Cabinet meets for its last clemency board meeting before the state's general election, the conversation surrounding felon voting rights is ramping up. One amendment on the ballot could put a new restoration system in place.

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Right to a speedy trial.
This comic boils down how Amendment 6 works.

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Excessive bail or fines should not be required. Nor cruel and unusual punishments shall be forced upon.
This article shows that Florida's supreme court removes Amendment 8 from the process of voting.

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TALLAHASSEE - The state Supreme Court charged into Florida's long-running battle over school choice Friday by removing a ballot measure that would have wrested control of charter schools from local districts and given it to the state.

Justices, in a narrowly divided 4-3 decision, upheld the decision by a lower court that Amendment 8, scheduled to appear on the Nov. 6 ballot, misled voters by not clearly stating its true purpose and never mentioning charter schools by name.

The Republican-controlled state government has generally been more receptive to charter schools than local school boards - and this proposal would have helped expand the amount of public dollars steered to privately-managed charter schools, critics of the ballot measure had argued.

The court's ruling is final, allowing elections supervisors across Florida to complete their Nov. 6 ballots almost immediately so that they are mailed to registered voter living overseas.

Plaintiff Patricia Brigham, president of the Florida League of Women Voters, celebrated the result.

"That is indeed fantastic news," Brigham said. "It is truly a victory for Floridians. The court saw right through what the [Constitution Revision Commission] was doing with that very vague language."

The League is a vocal critic of Florida's expansion of charter schools, which are paid for with taxpayer money but operated by private groups. Along with the Southern Poverty Law Center, the League challenged Amendment 8 by arguing the proposal's ballot title and summary hid the purpose of the measure: to fuel the expansion of charter schools by easing oversight.

Rather than mention "charter schools" in either its title or ballot summary, the measure states that its purpose "permits the state to operate, control, and supervise public schools not established by the school board."

"This decision upholds prior law guaranteeing that if voters are asked to make significant changes to the state's constitution, they are given fair notice of those changes so that they can make informed decisions at the ballot box," added Zoe Savitsky, deputy legal director for the Southern Poverty Law Center.

Erika Donalds, the measure's sponsor, criticized "activist judges" for the decision.

"The League of Women Voters and the Southern Poverty Law Center were so busy protecting a system - protecting power and control - that they lost sight of the children, and the families who desire and deserve great public school options," Donalds said in a released statement. "We know that choice, competition, and innovation are the avenues to continuous improvement for our education system. The education monopoly will not reform itself or welcome needed competition without policy changes."

Donalds, who is a school board member in Naples and is married to a Republican state lawmaker, pledged to continue fighting for more pathways to provide school choice to families.

Friday was a busy day for judicial decisions on some of Florida's many proposed constitutional amendments. The Supreme Court also ordered that three other amendments stay on the ballot after facing separate challenges. Additionally, the attorney general's office indicated on Friday it would appeal three other amendments struck from the ballot by a Leon County Circuit judge earlier this week.

READ MORE: Explaining 13 constitutional amendments on Florida's ballot

During Wednesday's oral arguments on Amendment 8, two justices - Charles Canady and Al Lawson - repeatedly suggested that the language before voters was clear in intent.

"I'm struggling to understand why they aren't going to get the main point here," Chief Justice Canady said at one point during questioning of Ron Meyer, the lawyer representing the League of Women Voters.

Four others on the court, who comprised the majority striking the amendment, signaled during questioning that they saw logic in the League's arguments.

If the objective is to let the voters know what they're voting on, Justice Jorge Labarga said to deputy solicitor general Daniel Bell, "Why not just come out and say it?"

Related coverage: Florida justices ask pointed questions during hearing on Amendment 8

Amendment 8 also pitched to impose school board term limits and enshrine civics education in the constitution. During debate among Florida Constitution Revision Commission members, concerns arose that the public school authorizer section should stand separately from the others because it could dramatically alter public education in the state.

A majority on the commission decided to tie the three together under the education umbrella, suggesting it would help stave off voter fatigue at the end of an already lengthy ballot. Some commissioners stated that the term limits and civics items might even help the authorizer piece win approval.

Related coverage: Constitution Revision Commission advances bundled education proposal to November ballot

"The Supreme Court has once again affirmed that a sponsor of a revision to the Constitution must be clear in explaining what it will do," Meyer said Friday. "Here, voters were being asked to make a major change in the structure of public education without being fairly informed of the breadth of this change. We are obviously pleased with the outcome."

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Florida Supreme Court removes Amendment 8 from ballot

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TALLAHASSEE - The state Supreme Court charged into Florida's long-running battle over school choice Friday by removing a ballot measure that would have wrested control of charter schools from local districts and given it to the state. Justices, in a narrowly divided 4-3 decision, upheld the decision by a lower court that Amendment 8, scheduled to appear on the Nov.

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Any power that is not given to the country is given to the people or states.
The article shows that the people are using the "protection amendment" to make sure citizens have a say for who represents them.

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Florida officials are rallying behind Amendment 10, which would require certain local offices be elected rather than appointed. A number of local agencies gathered at the Capitol Monday to launch a statewide initiative supporting the proposal.

Florida sheriffs, tax collectors and clerks of the circuit court say the so-called "Protection Amendment" is necessary to make sure citizens have a say in who represents and works for them.

"This amendment ensure that all constitutional officers report directly to the people, rather than charter review boards with special interests, county employees or another layer of officials," says Martin County Clerk of the Court Carolyn Timmann.

Some counties across the state have established charter governments. In these governments, certain posts like property appraiser and tax collector can be appointed by the county commission, rather than through a direct election.

Proponents of Amendment 10, like Timmann, say this erodes citizens' constitutional right.

"I'm so dismayed that some local government officials are desperately trying to block their own constituents from voicing their choice about whether they want independent, locally-elected and accountable elected officials," argues Timmann. "That just amazes me."

Those against proposal include officials from Volusia, Broward and Miami-Dade counties - all of whom have charter governments. They claim the amendment is an attack on local government.

But Timmann argues it's not interfering with local ordinances; it's ensuring all officers are held accountable.

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Local Officials Rally Behind Amendment 10

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Florida officials are rallying behind Amendment 10, which would require certain local offices be elected rather than appointed. A number of local agencies gathered at the Capitol Monday to launch a statewide initiative supporting the proposal.