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UNF poll shows Floridians support Amendment 4 to restore voting rights to those with felony records
A Florida constitutional amendment that would automatically restore voting rights for people who have a felony record has enough support to pass this November, according to a new poll released on Monday. Amendment 4 is supported by 71 percent of likely voters, according to the survey conducted by the Public Opinion Research Lab at the […]
A closer look at Florida Constitutional Amendment 4
About this Florida Phoenix series: Florida voters could face a whopping twelve different proposed amendments to the state Constitution on Nov. 6 – one of the longest lists ever. The amendments cover a wild ride of subjects, including complex changes to tax policy, banning offshore oil drilling and greyhound racing, expanding gambling, automatically restoring voting […]
A closer look at Florida Constitutional Amendment 3
About this Florida Phoenix series: Florida voters could face a whopping twelve different proposed amendments to the state Constitution on Nov. 6 – one of the longest lists ever. The amendments cover a wild ride of subjects, including complex changes to tax policy, banning offshore oil drilling and greyhound racing, expanding gambling, automatically restoring voting […]
League of Women Voters of Florida, Common Cause, refile lawsuit challenging governor’s power to choose incoming Supreme Court Justices
Two groups that filed a lawsuit last year challenging Gov. Rick Scott’s power to choose three incoming Florida Supreme Court Justices refiled the case on Thursday. The stakes are high: The case revolves around who gets the power to choose replacements for three Supreme Court Justices leaving the court in early January because they have […]
FL Dems say the state and the feds have let down Puerto Ricans who moved to the state after Hurricane Maria
As Gov. Rick Scott traveled to Puerto Rico Thursday on the one-year anniversary of Hurricane Maria, a group of Puerto Rican-based Democratic legislators denounced state and federal officials for not doing enough to help tens of thousands of displaced Puerto Ricans who have migrated to Florida after the wrath of the storm. Of chief concern […]
ACLU report says young and minority voters have more vote-by-mail ballots rejected
More Floridians are voting early by mail, but a greater percentage of the mail-in ballots cast by young people and people of color are rejected compared to ballots cast in person, a new study says. Why are they rejected? Mostly due to missing or mismatched signatures, says the “Vote-by-mail Ballots Cast in Florida” report, co-authored by the […]
Latest poll in governor’s race shows Andrew Gillum leading Ron DeSantis
The latest poll of Florida’s governor race shows Democrat Andrew Gillum leading Republican Ron DeSantis by six points, 50 percent to 44 percent. The online poll has a margin of error of four percentage points (actually, the poll lists a “credibility interval” of four percentage points. Learn more about that here). Gillum, the 39-year-old mayor […]
Focus on public education: DeSantis releases school policy plans; Gillum stands by his $1 billion proposal
In his first major policy plan on public education in Florida, Republican gubernatorial nominee Ron DeSantis released details Tuesday that would tackle everything from potential wasteful spending, political biases in textbooks and a “complete review” of academic standards to ensure that the federal government isn’t dictating standards to Florida. In terms of education spending, a […]
Tom Steyer’s “Black Lives Rising” to concentrate on increasing young black voter turnout in Tallahassee and Daytona Beach
A new campaign called Black Lives Rising launched Tuesday with $1 million and a goal to increase turnout among young black voters in 13 U.S. cities for the Nov. 6 general election, including Tallahassee and Daytona Beach. The effort is backed by NextGen America, a political action committee led by San Francisco billionaire philanthropist Tom […]
Rick Scott takes shot at Dianne Feinstein as he comments on Brett Kavanaugh
Florida Governor Rick Scott is weighing in on allegations that Supreme Court justice nominee Brett Kavanaugh sexually assaulted a California woman back in the 1980’s. Scott, who is challenging Democrat Bill Nelson for the U.S. Senate this November, says the Senate Judiciary Committee “needs to seek the truth here.” “Truth is not partisan, and truth […]
Florida’s economy is booming, but not for everybody. How will that affect the governor’s race?
On the campaign trail, Republican gubernatorial candidate Ron DeSantis, outgoing Gov. Rick Scott, and their GOP allies paint a rosy picture of the state’s job growth and economy. To hear them tell it, we Floridians are all doing a lot better than we were eight years ago. But that’s only for some people, particularly those […]
U.S. Sen. Bill Nelson says hearings should happen to hear Brett Kavanaugh’s accuser – Sen. Rubio laying low
Florida Democratic U.S. Senator Bill Nelson said today that he believes that there should be an investigation into the allegations that surfaced over the past few days from a California woman who says that U.S. Supreme Court justice nominee Brett Kavanaugh sexually assaulted her decades ago. “I agree there should be an investigation of the […]