Court Rules Floridians Convicted of a Felony Can't Be Barred from Voting Because of Owed Fines and Fees

Date:  02-20-2020 Despite overwhelming support to give people with a felony conviction the right to vote, Florida Governor asks 11th Circuit court to reconsider its ruling

From Associated Press: TALLAHASSEE, Fla. — Florida cannot, for now, bar felons who served their time from registering to vote simply because they have failed to pay all fines and fees stemming from their cases, a federal appeals court ruled Wednesday. A three-judge panel of the 11th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals upheld a Tallahassee federal judge's preliminary injunction that a state law implementing Amendment 4 amounted to an unfair poll tax that would disenfranchise many of the released felons. The state constitutional amendment was approved overwhelmingly by voters in 2018 to allow most felons who served their time to regain the right to vote. But the Republican-led Legislature soon after passed a law stipulating that they had to first pay any fines and fees before their sentences could be deemed complete under the law. Continue reading >>>