ORLANDO, Fla. – Following Tuesday’s historic midterm election, League of Women Voters of Florida President Patricia Brigham offered the following statement:
The League extends a sincere congratulations to all our state’s victorious candidates — from the federal and statewide levels down to the local county levels. 61 out of Florida’s 67 counties saw record-breaking turnout for a midterm election. Our educational websites at bereadytovote.org and vote411.org saw record-shattering traffic. No matter the political party preference, we can all agree that our democracy works best with an engaged and participatory electorate.
On that note, Florida voters just approved the largest single enfranchisement since the Voting Rights Act. No longer forced to navigate a hopelessly broken and unfair system, approximately 1.4 million more Americans are now eligible to vote. Amendment 4 passed with support from voters of all political persuasions because Floridians believe that once someone has paid their debt to society, that debt is paid off.
This historic achievement could not have been possible without the tireless efforts of the Second Chances Florida campaign, the members of the Florida Rights Restoration Coalition, and most importantly, the thousands of dedicated volunteers at the grassroots level. These volunteers spent years gathering petition signatures, reaching out to voters, and getting out the vote. This is truly a victory for democracy in our state.
