James Uthmeier at Cuban Club in Ybor City, Florida on April 17, 2026.
Credit: Dave Decker / Creative Loafing Tampa Bay

On Nov. 6, 2018, over 5 million voters in Florida celebrated the passing of Amendment 4 as Florida joined the 46 states that allowed previously convicted people to vote. On June 28, 2019, 1.4 returning citizens were dismayed to learn that the Florida legislature was imposing financial requirements on their newly won rights.

Some states restore voting rights automatically; some never take away voting rights; and others have a process in place or a set of criteria. Amendment 4 only specified that the small number of those convicted of murder or felony sexual offenses would not be enfranchised. The law signed by Gov. Ron DeSantis in June 2019, however, mandated that in Florida formerly convicted people had to repay their fines and fees before voting.

In September 2020, the U.S. Court of Appeals for the 11th Circuit found that the requirement for returning citizens to pay fines was legal under the equal protection clause of the 14th Amendment. In addition, the majority found that because the fines were punitive, they were not a poll tax and therefore not in violation of the 24thAmendment. The Governor did a victory lap.

Why am I telling you this? Because last month at a meeting of the Tampa Tiger Bay Club, I had the opportunity to ask Florida Attorney General James Uthmeier how many people have had their voting rights restored since he took office a year ago and what the process was by which convicted felon Donald Trump had his voting rights restored.

AG Uthmeier, normally a fount of statistics, had no information about returning citizens and refused to answer my question about Trump. He pivoted instead to the exciting prospect that former, non-violent felons will be able to get their gun rights restored automatically. As an erstwhile gun safety advocate, I wasn’t excited.

Listen to our exchange, or read it, verbatim, below.

Elizabeth Corwin: I’m wondering if you can tell us how many non-violent former felons have had their voting rights restored in the last year, and what the process was that President Trump went through to get his voting rights restored after his convictions.

AG Uthmeier: So non violent felon voting rights restored—we’ve had a large number, I don’t have the exact number for you, but if you get our contact, I’d be happy to follow up and provide a specific number. But I don’t want to tell you wrong. Our clemency board is active in the state and meets every quarter. But one other thing we did, realizing we didn’t want people to be in a long pipeline where they’re having to wait on the cabinet, to come and sit and go through its process—is we created an automated process where people that meet certain criteria and have certain constitutional rights can get it restored on the papers and not have to go through, a hearing and, you know, more of a judicial process. I’ll add on to that—I took a position that has been viewed as somewhat controversial, but again, it’s it’s right under the Constitution, and I’m bound by it, where, you know, we’ve got a lot of people that are felons in Florida, but they’re not dangerous to society, and they’ve had their gun rights removed now, in light of the Bruen Supreme Court case from, from just a few years ago. The Supreme Court has said at the time of the founding, we have to look at the analog: When would somebody’s gun rights be taken away? And there were, there would be occasions today where you’d have felons for credit card fraud or some other crime that’s not showing imminent danger to society. I don’t believe I have the ability to defend the government taking gun rights away from those people, and I know that a lot of prosecutors like that “felon in possession” to rack up, you know, higher time behind bars. But again, I’m bound by the Constitution. And I think true constitutionalists, they stand by their principles. They stand by the Constitution, even when it’s going to create some discomfort. So thank you for the question.

Corwin: (follow up about Trump)

Uthmeier: I’m not going to get into the sham proceedings against President Trump. I think those have all been dispelled.

But back to voting rights. Until 2007, formerly convicted people could not vote in Florida in general. Gov. Charlie Crist in 2007 allowed non-violent offenders to get their voting rights back.Over 155,000 applications for voting rights restoration were approved during Crist’s four-year term. Then Gov. Rick Scott, who was never convicted of any crimes despite the misconduct of his company, acting on the advice of Florida Attorney General Pam Bondi, ended automatic restoration and instituted a mandatory seven-year wait period before returning citizens could apply to the State Board of Executive Clemency. Many Floridians wanted to get their voting rights restored but were thwarted by the cost and difficulty of traveling to Tallahassee, the opaque and blatantly arbitrary decision-making process, and lack of legal experience/advice. During the first seven years of Scott’s tenure, just 3,000 applications were approved. Returning citizens seeking to carry guns had to go through the same process.

In 2012, Desmond Meade and the Florida Rights Restoration Coalition (FRRC) began campaigning for the ultimately successful 2018 Amendment 4, which won over 64% of voters. The legislature and Governor then imposed the requirement that fees and fines be paid. No system existed, however, for would-be voters to determine whether they owed money or how much. Through the work of many pro bono attorneys and with donations of over $30 million, 100,000 returning citizens are known to have had their voting rights restored. FRRC estimates that another 178,000 relatives of these citizens also registered to vote as voting took on new significance and legitimacy.

From June 2019 until after the 2024 elections, the voting rights restoration process was difficult but there is now a process in place to enable previously convicted people to get an advisory opinion on their fines and fees. (See either the Florida Division of Elections or FRRC website for information.) If they don’t get an opinion within 90 days, they can register to vote without one.

The time it took from the passing of Amendment 4 in 2018 until Florida had a process in place to help returning citizens get the information they needed was a serious black mark against this state. Now this could become farcical because last month, AG Unthmeier pronounced that former, non-violent felons would get back the right to own guns and he crowed about this last week in response to my question about returning citizens. He has not opined on whether weapon-seekers, too, will have to pay their fines and fees beforehand. If formerly convicted people have to go through hoops to get their voting rights back but only have to buy a gun to get back their gun rights, fill up your popcorn bowl and gather in front of the late-night television shows.

Personally, I would like to keep guns out of the hands of all private citizens, but I recognize that I am in the minority. Reflecting practically, I would welcome the restoration of all civil rights, which include the right to vote, the right to hold public office, the right to serve on a jury, and the right to hold certain types of state occupational licenses. If the only way to do that is to include gun rights, so be it.

My Florida House Representative, Karen Gonzalez Pittman (Republican, District 65) says no restrictions can be placed on the 2nd Amendment, but how is it that restrictions can be placed on the 15th and 24th Amendments and the 1964 Voting Rights Act?

Finally, what process did convicted felon Donald J. Trump use to get back his right to vote? Attorney General Jame Uthmeier wouldn’t provide any details except to say that the court proceedings against DJT were a sham. [Note to future returning citizens – try using that excuse.] The answer is apparently that DJT never lost his voting rights because he was convicted in New York, not Florida. So, remember, folks, if you want to commit a felony but continue to vote, do it out of state and in a state that automatically restores voting rights without any conditions.

Elizabeth Corwin is a retired Senior Foreign Service Officer who makes her home in Tampa. Having lived behind the Iron Curtain, she is committed to free and fair elections.

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This article appears in Apr. 30 – May 06, 2026.