Sponsors of an amendment to restore the civil rights of former felons in Florida have withdrawn their proposal from the Constitution Revision Commission.
Arthenia Joyner says she still believes the current system that dates back to civil war reconstruction is wrong and needs to change.
"This insistence on keeping Florida locked in past centuries of punishment, on preserving never-ending atonement for those who made mistakes but fully repaid their debt, has got to end," she said.
But Joyner says her proposal is no longer needed.
That's because the Florida Rights Restoration Coalition collected enough signatures to force a vote.
It will appear on the November ballot as Amendment 4.
Joyner and her fellows said having duplicate amendments on the ballot would only confuse voters, so they withdrew their proposal.
Florida is one of just four states that don't restore civil rights of ex-felons once they have done their time, and it can take more than a decade to jump through all the legal hoops.