Florida Politics - Campaigns & Elections. Lobbying & Government.

Drew WilsonOctober 23, 2018

The committee sponsoring the “Voting Restoration Amendment,” which would restore voting rights to Florida felons who have completed their sentences, spent more than $1.8 million of its reserves pushing the proposal on the airwaves, online and via direct mail between Oct. 6 and Oct. 12. Floridians for a Fair Democracy, which led the drive to […]

A.G. GancarskiOctober 1, 2018

A poll commissioned by the political committee Floridians for a Fair Democracy shows sufficient support to pass a constitutional amendment to restore certain felons’ voting rights. The poll of 1,000 likely voters from Sept. 17-23, conducted in both English and Spanish by North Star Opinion Research and EMC Research, shows 74 percent support for Amendment 4, […]

Joe HendersonMay 8, 2018

Nothing divides the people of this nation like the issue of abortion. Not even guns. If you support a woman’s right to terminate her pregnancy, opponents will scream that you’re a baby murderer. On the other side, if you believe life begins at conception and is sacred, you must be a zealot or a sexist […]

Staff ReportsApril 9, 2018

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Howard Simon, the longest-serving American Civil Liberties Union (ACLU) official, is retiring at the end of the year. Simon spent the last 21 years as head of the ACLU of Florida, and directed the organization’s Michigan office for 23 years before that. “His cumulative 44-year career … is the longest in the ACLU’s 98-year history,” the group […]

Gary FineoutJuly 28, 2017

Florida’s price tag for losing legal battles – which has included courtroom fights over drug testing, voting rights and gay marriage – continues to grow under Gov. Rick Scott. Scott recently agreed to pay $1.1 million to cover the legal bills of physicians and medical organizations in their successful challenge of a law that restricted […]

Jim RosicaJuly 19, 2017

If the state thinks a law requiring women to wait 24 hours before getting an abortion is constitutional, it needs to prove it, a Tallahassee judge said during a Wednesday hearing. Circuit Judge Terry Lewis—a 28-year veteran of the bench—gave the Attorney General’s Office 60 days to develop evidence to counter a Supreme Court decision this […]

Associated PressJuly 5, 2017

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The American Civil Liberties Union says in a federal lawsuit that Miami-Dade County is violating the Constitution by detaining people without a warrant to comply with Trump administration immigration policies. ACLU and other attorneys filed the lawsuit Wednesday on behalf of a Honduran-born U.S. citizen who was held in jail without charges because an immigration […]

Florence SnyderApril 9, 2017

In the 1960s, “morning announcements” at Miami Crestview Elementary School were served up with a side order of morning Scriptures. The daily Bible readings skewed heavily New Testament, and the Jewish kids always dreaded spring, with its Easter ham-handed swipes at “Christ-killers.” It was confusing, unsettling and sometimes downright scary. Somehow, we managed to weather […]

A.G. GancarskiApril 7, 2017

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For an indication of the seismic change in the office of 4th Circuit Public Defender Charlie Cofer, look no further than his just-announced appearance at a late April panel. The panel: “Better Justice Florida: A Forum on Criminal Justice Reform.” Among the focuses of the Apr. 29 event at the Florida Coastal School of Law: Florida’s […]

Associated PressFebruary 15, 2017

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The Republican-led Senate is moving to block an Obama-era regulation that would prevent an estimated 75,000 people with mental disorders from being able to purchase a firearm. The Obama administration had sought to strengthen the federal background check system with a rule requiring the Social Security Administration to send in the names of beneficiaries with […]

Tag: American Civil Liberties Union

Voter restoration amendment backers spend another $1.8M on ads

Voting rights restoration amendment poised to pass, survey says

Joe Henderson: Adam Putnam ensures abortion will be major campaign issue

Personnel note: ACLU of Florida’s Howard Simon to retire

Florida’s cost for losing lawsuits keeps growing

Judge gives state 2 months to defend abortion waiting period

Suit slams Donald Trump-influenced immigrant detentions in Florida

Florence Snyder: Prayers over the public-address system are a Florida fixture

Charlie Cofer panel appearance signals real difference in Jax Public Defender office

U.S. Senate will consider blocking rule on guns and mentally ill