Florida felon voting activist Meade gets civil rights back

TALLAHASSEE, Fla. (AP) — The Florida activist who led a movement to allow most former felons to vote now has had more civil rights restored under a new state process. Desmond Meade is the head of the Florida Rights Restoration Coalition. He announced in a Twitter video Saturday that he can now run for office, serve on a jury and even take the bar exam to become a lawyer. Meade led the successful 2018 effort to enact a voter-approved constitutional amendment restoring felon voting rights after their sentences are complete. The Republican-led Legislature later required all financial obligations such as fines to also be completed, which critics said primarily disenfranchises minorities and poor people.