NAACP FLORIDA STATE CONFERENCE ADVOCACY DAY

About the Event

FLORIDA STATE CONFERENCE ADVOCACY DAY
DR. ADORA OBI NWEZE~STATE CONFERENCE PRESIDENT
CYNTHIA SLATER~CIVIC ENGAGEMENT CHAIR
ATTORNEY PAMELA BURCH FORT~LEGISLATIVE STRATEGIC CONSULTANT/FSC
The Florida State Conference has scheduled its Advocacy Day to coincide with Equal
Ground Action and Clergy Day at the Florida Capitol on March 26, 2025. This convening will
bring other civil rights, civil liberties and social justice organizations together to make our
collective voices heard to lawmakers.
Our members from around the state are traveling by bus, courtesy of Equal Ground, to the
state Capitol in Tallahassee, Florida for a day of advocacy. We will engage in training on how
to communicate a message to lawmakers while focusing on our priority bill, The Harry T.
and Harriette V. Moore Florida Voting Rights Act., SB 1582/ HB1409 (FL VRA). This
legislation, filed by two lawmakers steeped in voting rights advocacy, Sen. Tracie Davis,
Duval County and Rep. Lavon Bracy Davis, Orange County,:
Reforms electoral processes and enhances voting rights in Florida through various
provisions.
• Mandates the election of the Secretary of State rather than appointment, with a
term coinciding with other major state officers.
• Requires the Florida Commission on Offender Review to develop and maintain a
database to assist individuals disqualified from voting due to felony convictions,
excluding murder and felony sexual offenses, in restoring their voting rights.
• Modifies voter registration processes, including the Department of Highway Safety
and Motor Vehicles’ role in voter registration and the repeal of certain prohibitions
and requirements related to voter registration activities.
• Introduces the Florida Voting Rights Act to prohibit discriminatory election practices
and establishes the Florida Voting Rights Act Commission within the Department of
State to enforce provisions.
• Creates procedures for same-day voter registration, language assistance mandates,
and regulations against voter intimidation and deceptive practices.
• Establishes General Election Day as a paid holiday, aims to improve the voting
accessibility and experience by adjusting the provision and return of vote-by-mail
ballots, and allows provisional voting across any precinct in the voter’s registered
county.
• Details comprehensive penalties and remedies for violations of election laws,
emphasizing non-discriminatory electoral processes and the correction of identified
disparities in voter participation.
Our time at the Capitol will begin with Equal Ground and Clergy in an opening reception
and training on Tuesday evening, March 25, 2025 in Tallahassee, FL. We anticipate
members of our partner organizations including, ACLU FL, Common Cause FL, SPLC,
Florida Rising, NAACP LDF, All Voting is Local, Latino Justice and other grassroots advocacy
organizations will attend.
Tentative Event Agenda

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March 25, 2025
• 4 PM: Arrive in Tallahassee, FL
• 6 PM – 8 PM: Opening Reception

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March 26, 2025
• 8 AM: Registration, Breakfast and Group Picture
• 9 AM: Presentations by partners and community leaders
• 10 AM: Press Conference
• 11:30 AM: Lunch
• 12:30 PM – Legislative committee hearings, meetings with legislators, presentations
by partners and community leaders
• 4 PM pick up to go dinner and depart Tallahassee
The hallmark moment of our advocacy day will be a Capitol press conference focused on
the FL VRA. Lawmakers, partner advocates will participate and attend the press event that
will feature a speaker from NAACP FSC.
“No matter what we look like or where we come from, Floridians agree: for our democracy
to function, it must work for us all,” said President Adora Obi Nweze. “We look forward to
carrying this message directly to our lawmakers on Advocacy Day.”

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