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Koch-Backed Group Supports Voting Rights for Felons in Florida

Freedom Partners says it believes those who “paid their debt to society” should be allowed to vote.

Freedom Partners, an organization with close ties to the conservative Koch Brothers, has backed a proposal to restore voting rights to non-violent convicted felons in Florida. The group, which is chaired by Koch Industries Vice President Mark Holden, announced in a Thursday press release that it was backing the measure known as Amendment 4 on the Florida ballot. “We believe that when individuals have served their sentences and paid their debts to society as ordered by a judge, they should be eligible to vote,” the organization said in a statement. “In the Sunshine State, Floridians are permanently excluded from voting because of a prior felony conviction—one of only four states with a lifetime ban. If we want people returning to society to be productive, law-abiding citizens, we need to treat them like full-fledged citizens.” It was not immediately clear if Freedom Partners planned to give financial support to the Second Chances campaign. Floridians for a Fair Democracy, which is sponsoring the amendment, says it has raised $14.3 million so far.