Hundreds of thousands of Floridians with felony convictions just lost their right to vote.
It's been almost two years since Floridians voted to restore voting rights to people with felony convictions who'd been released from prison and weren't convicted of murder or sexual assault. But those newly enfranchised voters prepared to go to the polls in November, a federal circuit court ruled they'll only be able to vote if they'd paid off all fees and fines associated with their conviction.
After Florida voters approved the amendment to the state constitution allowing former felons to vote, Republican lawmakers and Gov. Ron DeSantis (R) pushed through a law mandating they first pay restitution, fees, and fines first. Opponents argued the payments violated the 14th Amendment's Equal Protection Clause, as well as the 24th Amendment's bar on implementing poll taxes.
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But the 11th Circuit court ruled 6-4 Friday that fees and fines are part of a felony sentence, and must be paid to vote. The state also doesn't have to tell people how much money they need to pay to vote, the court ruled.
Court battles over the felony voter law have gone on since its passage. A judge first said the "pay-to-vote" requirement was illegal, but both the Florida Supreme Court and the U.S. Supreme Court disagreed. Around 1 million Floridians have former felony convictions, but hundreds of thousands are estimated to still have exorbitant fees left to pay off.
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