An attempt to restore felons’ voting rights in Florida is getting a national boost this week. Comedian Samantha Bee of the TBS show Full Frontal sat down with Desmond Meade of the Florida Rights Restoration Coalition. Meade is behind a proposed ballot initiative that would automatically restore civil rights to felons. Here’s a portion of Bee’s segment.
“In Florida, felonies can be things like buying weed, tampering with an odometer or disturbing a lobster trap. So basically Spring Break," Bee joked. "And once you lose your rights, it’s nearly impossible to get them back.”
Bee set up a new website for audience members to download and sign the petition if they're Florida voters. For those who can't vote in the state, Bee joked folks can mail it to a grandparent who is.
The measure needs more than 683,000 signatures to get on the 2018 ballot. According to the Florida Department of State, the group is currently at just over 71,000 signatures.
