Fla. Ex-Felons: Pay Up or Stay Home on Election Day
Last month I posted an article about the status of voting rights for people who have been convicted of a felony. I wrote then that the status of ex-felons’ voting rights in Florida remained unresolved due to an ongoing legal dispute regarding the constitutionality of a state law requiring -- as a condition to reinstating one’s voting privileges – that defendants pay any court fines, costs, or restitution they owe.
Although a lower federal court previously struck down the payment requirement as an unconstitutional “poll tax,” that ruling was immediately appealed by Florida’s Republican governor and secretary of state.
Florida’s Undemocratic Voting Law Reinstated
On September 11, 2020, the 11th Circuit Federal Court of Appeals, in a 6-4, 200-page decision, reversed the lower court’s ruling, thus reinstating the requirement that all fees/costs and restitution be paid if a convicted felon wants his or her voting privileges restored.
Currently, it is estimated that as many as 775,000 individuals will be denied the right to vote in Florida on account of their inability to pay their court debts.
Several prominent individuals, Mike Bloomberg, John Legend, and LeBron James to name a few, have contributed money and/or lent their support to raise money to pay off these debts.
Local Grassroots Efforts Supporting Right to Vote
One local organization -- the Florida Rights Restoration Coalition (FRRC) -- has helped close to 5,000 individuals pay off their debts, at an average cost of $1,000 per person.
The deadline for registering to vote in Florida is closing in: October 5, 2020. With less than two weeks remaining until the deadline, the FRRC continues to raise money. I encourage anyone able to contribute to this effort go to FRRC’s website wegotthevote.org and donate.
Letting Everyone Vote
No one should need reminding that Florida could, once again, play a crucial role in deciding who will become this nation’s next president.
Let’s make sure that everyone who wants to vote in 2020 can and does – including those ex-felons living in Florida.