WUFT | News and public media for north central Florida
Florida reporter explores state’s long fight over voting rights
By Kristin Moorehead
October 8, 2025 at 3:34 PM EDT
GAINESVILLE, Fla. — In 2018, Floridians voted to pass Amendment 4, granting people with felony convictions the right to vote. What followed was controversy, as a state law sought to roll back much of what the amendment had tried to accomplish.
The legal battle that followed stretched for years, and in the end the state prevailed. Today, many people with felony convictions in Florida still struggle to vote because of a requirement to pay off court fees before regaining their rights.
WLRN reporter Daniel Rivero explores this history in his new book, “Just Freedom: Inside Florida’s Decades-Long Voting Rights Battle.” He traces how the state’s approach to voting rights has evolved and the consequences that remain.
Rivero will be in Gainesville on Friday at 6 p.m. for an author event at The Lynx Bookstore.
The legal battle that followed stretched for years, and in the end the state prevailed. Today, many people with felony convictions in Florida still struggle to vote because of a requirement to pay off court fees before regaining their rights.
WLRN reporter Daniel Rivero explores this history in his new book, “Just Freedom: Inside Florida’s Decades-Long Voting Rights Battle.” He traces how the state’s approach to voting rights has evolved and the consequences that remain.
Rivero will be in Gainesville on Friday at 6 p.m. for an author event at The Lynx Bookstore.