Skip to content
Search

Latest Stories

Top Stories

Governor denies pardon for Florida felon voting rights advocate

Desmond Meade

Desmond Meade has led the fight in Florida for voting rights restoration for people with past felony convictions like himself.

Gerardo Mora/Getty Images

Nationally recognized voting rights advocate Desmond Meade, who has helped thousands of former felons like himself regain the right to vote, was again denied a pardon from Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis on Wednesday.

At the same time DeSantis rejected Meade's pardon, the Republican governor also approved changes to the clemency process that could expedite rights restoration for people with past felony convictions.

Floridians passed an amendment in 2018 to restore voting rights to the state's 1.4 million ex-felons, but legislative and logistical barriers have kept many disenfranchised.


As president and executive director of the Florida Rights Restoration Coalition, Meade has been instrumental in the fight to restore voting rights to ex-felons in Florida. Two years ago he was recognized by Time Magazine as one of the 100 most influential people in the world after spearheading the 2018 ballot measure campaign.

Since experiencing drug addiction, homelessness and a felony conviction in 2001, Meade has turned his life around and earned a law degree. But due to his felony record, he cannot become a member of the Florida Bar unless he receives a pardon.

This is the second time DeSantis has denied Meade a pardon. His request was first rejected last September.

DeSantis said he denied Meade a pardon due to his dishonorable discharge from the military three decades ago. "As a former military officer, a dishonorable discharge is the highest punishment that a court martial may render. I consider it very serious," he said.

But Meade says he was a victim of political infighting because his pardon request was supported by Agriculture Commissioner Nikki Fried. As Florida's only statewide elected Democrat, Fried is seen as a potential challenger to DeSantis in next year's gubernatorial election.

Fried, who's also a member of the state's Clemency Board, has been critical of DeSantis' handling of rights restoration to former felons since the amendment's passage three years ago. Following the governor's decision on Wednesday, she decried the denial of Meade's pardon as "hypocritical grandstanding."

"This Governor continues denying rights to a deserving Floridian in Desmond Meade on the basis of a long-ago military dishonorable discharge, but had no issue with appointing a Chief Administrative Judge who had been discharged for poor conduct from the Navy," she said in a statement.

"At the end of the day, the decision not to grant me a pardon is purely a political decision and I just happen to be a casualty of a war that's going on, a disagreement that's going on between the governor and our commissioner of agriculture," Meade told reporters in Tallahassee on Wednesday.

In the same meeting in which pardons were considered, DeSantis and the state Clemency Board also approved changes to expedite the clemency process for former felons. Those who have paid all their fines and fees can now apply for full rights restoration without needing a hearing before the board. Officials said this will streamline the process to reduce the backlog of cases.

The changes also waived the five- and seven-year waiting periods implemented in 2011 by then-Gov. Rick Scott.

While it's unclear how many Floridians will have their cases expedited, Meade said the new rules will help make the process less cumbersome and lengthy for thousands of returning citizens. He added that this victory outweighed his personal loss.

However, issues still remain with the state government's poor record-keeping of outstanding fines and fees for ex-felons. Because many don't know what they owe, if anything, they have been unable to have their voting rights restored.

Read More

Understanding the Debate on Health Secretary Kennedy’s Vaccine Panelists

Robert F. Kennedy Jr., January 29, 2025 in Washington, DC.

(Photo by Chen Mengtong/China News Service/VCG via Getty Images)

Understanding the Debate on Health Secretary Kennedy’s Vaccine Panelists

Summary

On June 9, 2025, Robert F. Kennedy Jr., the Secretary of Health and Human Services (HHS), dismissed all 17 members of the CDC’s Advisory Committee on Immunization Practices (ACIP). Secretary Kennedy claimed the move was necessary to eliminate “conflicts of interest” and restore public trust in vaccines, which he argued had been compromised by the influence of pharmaceutical companies. However, this decision strays from precedent and has drawn significant criticism from medical experts and public health officials across the country. Some argue that this shake-up undermines scientific independence and opens the door to politicized decision-making in vaccine policy.

Background: What Is ACIP?

The Advisory Committee on Immunization Practices (ACIP) is a federal advisory group that helps guide national vaccine policy. Established in 1964, it has over 60 years of credibility as an evidence-based body of medical and scientific experts. ACIP makes official recommendations on vaccine schedules for both children and adults, determining which immunizations are required for school entry, covered by health insurance, and prioritized in public health programs. The committee is composed of specialists in immunology, epidemiology, pediatrics, infectious disease, and public health, all of whom are vetted for scientific rigor and ethical standards. ACIP’s guidance holds national weight, shaping both public perception of vaccines and the policies of institutions like schools, hospitals, and insurers.

Keep ReadingShow less
MQ-9 Predator Drones Hunt Migrants at the Border
Way into future, RPA Airmen participate in Red Flag 16-2 > Creech ...

MQ-9 Predator Drones Hunt Migrants at the Border

FT HUACHUCA, Ariz. - Inside a windowless and dark shipping container turned into a high-tech surveillance command center, two analysts peered at their own set of six screens that showed data coming in from an MQ-9 Predator B drone. Both were looking for two adults and a child who had crossed the U.S.-Mexico border and had fled when a Border Patrol agent approached in a truck.

Inside the drone hangar on the other side of the Fort Huachuca base sat another former shipping container, this one occupied by a drone pilot and a camera operator who pivoted the drone's camera to scan nine square miles of shrubs and saguaros for the migrants. Like the command center, the onetime shipping container was dark, lit only by the glow of the computer screens.

Keep ReadingShow less
A Trump 2020 flag outside of a home.

As Trump’s second presidency unfolds, rural America—the foundation of his 2024 election win—is feeling the sting. From collapsing export markets to cuts in healthcare and infrastructure, those very voters are losing faith.

Getty Images, ablokhin

Trump’s 2.0 Actions Have Harmed Rural America Who Voted for Him

Daryl Royal, the 20-year University of Texas football coach, once said, “You've gotta dance with them that brung ya.” The modern adaptation of that quote is “you gotta dance with the one who brought you to the party.” The expression means you should remain loyal to the people or things that helped you succeed.

Sixty-three percent of America’s 3,144 counties are predominantly rural, and Donald Trump won 93 percent of those counties in 2024. Analyses show that rural counties have become increasingly solid Republican, and Trump’s margin of victory within rural America reached a new high in the 2024 election.

Keep ReadingShow less
Hands Off Our Elections: States and Congress, Not Presidents, Set the Rules
white concrete dome museum

Hands Off Our Elections: States and Congress, Not Presidents, Set the Rules

Trust in elections is fragile – and once lost, it is extraordinarily difficult to rebuild. While Democrats and Republicans disagree on many election policies, there is broad bipartisan agreement on one point: executive branch interference in elections undermines the constitutional authority of states and Congress to determine how elections are run.

Recent executive branch actions threaten to upend this constitutional balance, and Congress must act before it’s too late. To be clear – this is not just about the current president. Keeping the executive branch out of elections is a crucial safeguard against power grabs by any future president, Democrat or Republican.

Keep ReadingShow less