Florida loses appeals court ruling on felon voting law

https://www.politico.com/states/florida/story/2020/02/19/florida-loses-appeals-court-ruling-on-felon-voting-law-1262200

By GARY FINEOUT
02/19/2020 11:17 AM EST

Delivering a defeat to Gov. Ron DeSantis and the Republican-controlled Florida Legislature, the 11th Circuit Court of Appeals in Atlanta upheld a lower court decision that found the state could not deny ex-felons the right to vote just because they can’t afford to pay outstanding court fines, fees and restitution, as required by the 2019 law.

“These plaintiffs are punished more harshly than those who committed precisely the same crime — by having their right to vote taken from them likely for their entire lives,” states the ruling issued by a three-judge panel. “And this punishment is linked not to their culpability, but rather to the exogenous fact of their wealth.”

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In 2018, more than 5 million Florida voters cast ballots in favor of Amendment 4, which automatically restored voting rights to convicted criminals who had served their time, with exceptions for murders and sex offenders.

Legislators said the amendment was vague, and passed a bill that required ex-offenders to pay outstanding court fees, fines and restitution in order to regain their right to vote.

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an August study by Dan Smith, a political science professor at the University of Florida, concluded that as many as 80 percent of the state’s formerly incarcerated individuals have some sort of legal financial obligation.

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