Tallahassee, FL – HB 1205, a bill to restrict citizen-led amendments, was approved by the Florida Senate earlier today. State Voices Florida opposes this legislation. The citizen-led amendment process in Florida is the strictest in the nation, requiring nearly one million signatures to get on the ballot and 60% support from voters to pass. The process should be made easier…not harder.

Floridians have used citizen-led amendments to pass transformative policies, such as the $15 minimum wage, legalizing medical marijuana, restoring voting rights to returning citizens and prohibiting gerrymandering when drawing Congressional Districts.  

The following is a statement from Larry Hannan, communications and policy director at State Voices Florida. 

“The citizen-led amendment process is one of the most direct ways Floridians can shape the future we all deserve. It embodies the collective power of Floridians, uniting us across race, zip code, and income to address the issues that matter most to our communities. This is direct democracy at its best—a system where the will of the people drives progress and shapes a better future. We call on legislators to abandon efforts to make this process harder.” 

Tallahassee, FL – HB 1205, a bill to restrict citizen-led amendments, was approved by the Florida House of Representatives earlier today. The citizen-led amendment process is one of the most direct ways Floridians can shape the future we all deserve. It embodies the collective power of Floridians, uniting us across race, zip code, and income to address the issues that matter most to our communities. This is direct democracy at its best—a system where the will of the people drives progress and shapes a better future.

If this bill or its companion in the Senate, SPB 7016, becomes law it will give only ten days to turn in petitions, and create unnecessary and burdensome fines on volunteers, preventing everyday Floridians from being able pass policies that improve our lives and strengthen our communities when politicians refuse to act.

State Voices Florida opposes this legislation and urges the Senate to reject both HB 1205 and SPB 7016. The citizen-led amendment process in Florida is the strictest in the nation, requiring nearly one million signatures to get on the ballot and 60% support from voters to pass. The process should be made easier…not harder.

JACKSONVILLE- Today, a coalition of voting rights organizations from North Florida and across the state released a letter to State Attorney Melissa Nelson, urging her office to reconsider its decision to drop all charges in what appears to be a clear case of voter intimidation at a Duval County polling site during the 2024 General Election. The coalition warns that the failure to prosecute voter intimidation sets a dangerous precedent and undermines public confidence in free and fair elections.

The letter, signed by organizations such as Northside Coalition of Jacksonville, Jacksonville Branch NAACP, and Jacksonville Community Action Committee, expresses deep concern over the decision not to prosecute an individual who reportedly brandished a machete at a polling location, threatening two women exercising their democratic rights.

“The facts of the case as publicly reported appear very compelling: a man wielding a deadly weapon approached a polling location and engaged in threatening behavior towards supporters of one of the presidential candidates on the ballot,” the letter states. “Your office’s dismissal of this case undermines public confidence in the justice system and fails in its duty to protect Florida voters.”